Human Rights Atrocities and International Courts

How are dictators held accountable? Is it the responsibility of the international community to find justice for victims? How effective are international courts? After mass human rights atrocities, there are often discussions of accountability through international courts. However, international courts are rarely perfectly effective because they rely on country cooperation to carry out investigations and trials. This course will compare successful international courts with those that have “failed.” By discussing and debating a catalogue of institutional design choices world leaders consider when creating international courts, we will be able to understand what allows international courts to try dictators.

 

This class studies institutional design choices that creates international courts which hold individuals who have committed the most egregious human rights violations accountable.

 

Week 1 will focus on the menu of different choices world leaders make when creating

international courts. We will discuss specific international and ad hoc courts and the related

conflict that motivated the creation of each.

 

Week 2 will apply theoretical knowledge. Students will be tasked with creating their own

international court with the goal of maximizing country compliance and cooperation. We will

also visit the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.