Book Launch: British Justice, War Crimes and Human Rights Violations - The Age of Accountability - Susan Kemp

Hosted by the Edinburgh Centre for International and Global Law

About the event
Author and lawyer Susan Kemp will launch her new book, in conversation with Professor Gerry Simpson (Chair of International Law at the London School of Economics) and with comments from Colonel David Benest, OBE (former Director of Defence Studies at the UK Defence Academy).  The event will be chaired by Rebecca Sutton, Edinburgh Law School.

About the book
This book examines the UK approach to investigating international crimes and serious human rights violations. In 2010, the United Nations Secretary General referred to the emerging system of international justice, including the creation of the International Criminal Court, as the ‘Age of Accountability.’ However, the UK has sometimes struggled to comply with its international law obligations. Using examples from the post-World War II period to 2018, interviews with leading UK military lawyers and newly disclosed official documents, this work explains the legal duties, how the UK military and civilian justice systems investigate alleged military misconduct and highlights the challenges involved. It provides suggestions on strengthening domestic law and policy and its importance for the UK’s legitimacy as an exporter of rule of law expertise. This text is essential reading for practitioners, academics, government officials and students of international, criminal, humanitarian or human rights law.

About the author
Susan Kemp is a Scottish lawyer with 23 years’ experience as a practitioner in international criminal and human rights law in Latin America, the United States, Europe and Africa. Her work has involved representing clients in litigation, investigating war crimes and genocide, and providing technical assistance to domestic law enforcement agencies. She was a criminal investigator at the International Criminal Court and served with the Criminal Law and Judicial Advisory Service at the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping. Currently she is a Commissioner with Scottish Human Rights Commission which is Scotland’s National Human Rights Institution. This year she will be supporting  pro bono, the new Edinburgh International Justice Initiative founded by students here at the law school.

This event is free and open to all. No registration necessary.