Double Standards: International Criminal Law and the West

In this book, Wolfgang Kaleck, an internationally active human rights and criminal lawyer, assesses the practice of international criminal law to date and analyses one of its main weaknesses: International criminal justice purports to be universal, but in reality it often operates in a politically selective manner. Until now, hardly any of those most responsible for international crimes committed by Western states have faced trial. Against the backdrop of this criticism, the book advocates a truly universal practice of international criminal law which holds even the most powerful accountable for crimes they have committed. Kaleck also tells the stories of survivors of human rights violations and human rights organizations that struggle for universal accountability for international crimes. He argues that the proponents of universal criminal justice must actively address existing double standards, as "it will not be possible to speak of a universal criminal justice system with equal rights and access to justice for all until the instigators and organizers of Guantánamo and of the atrocities in Chechnya are held accountable for their actions".