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8 Brown J. World Aff. 177 (2001-2002)
A Nuremberg Prosecutor's Response to Henry Kissinger

handle is hein.journals/brownjwa8 and id is 187 raw text is: A Nuremberg Prosecutor's Response to Henry Kissinger BENJAMIN B. FERENCZ Adjunct Professor of International Law Pace Law School enry Kissinger's essay on The Pitfalls of Universal Jurisdiction (For- eign Affairs July/August 2001) perceives danger in allowing inter- national legal norms to interfere with political actions by national gov- ernments. The former U.S. Secretary of State in the administration of President Richard Nixon warns that current efforts to deter genocide and other crimes against humanity by creating an International Criminal Court (ICC) run the risk of becoming a tyranny of judges or a dictatorship of the virtuous. He refers to inquisitions and even witch-hunts. Kissinger's focus on the past exaggerates the dangers of the present and ignores the needs of the future. If we are to have a more peaceful and humane world, international law must play a greater and not a lesser role. Dr. Kissinger challenges the basic concept of universal jurisdiction. He ar- gues, incorrectly, that the notion is of recent vintage. He gives scant weight to ancient doctrines designed to curb piracy or to a plethora of international con- ventions following the First World War. He fails to recognize that international law is found not only in treaties, but in general principles of justice and in cus- toms which gradually obtain universal recognition. International law is not static but constantly advances to meet the needs of a changing world. Over half a century ago, Robert M. Jackson, on leave from the U.S. Su- preme Court to become Chief U.S. Prosecutor before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, declared: To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is Winter/Spring 2001 - Volume VIII, Issue 1

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