Prosecuting War Crimes and Genocide: The Twentieth Century Experience. By Howard Ball. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1999. 288p. $35.00.

Abstract

There is little doubt that an abiding feature of international relations in the current period is the struggle to extend the rule of law to crimes of state. The 1998 detention in Britain of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, in response to a request for extradition issued by a Spanish judge, gave prominence to this quest. This development was further reinforced by the campaign to establish a permanent inter- national criminal court, which eventuated in a treaty signed in Rome by about 120 countries two years ago and is on its way to securing the 60 ratifications needed to bring it into force. Organized international society is far from the end of this journey; powerful governments, including our own, are not ready to submit their citizens or leaders to international procedures of accountability.