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Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials

Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials

Author: Suzannah Linton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199643288
Published In: September 2013
Format: Hardback , 304 pages
Jurisdiction: Hong Kong ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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Provides a detailed analysis of the under-explored British military trials that took place in Hong Kong in 1946-48, in which 123 defendants were tried for war crimes
Offers a comprehensive assessment of the trials, highlighting how they contributed to the development of notions of joint criminal enterprise and the defence of superior orders
Demonstrates the importance of these trials in their historical context
Includes contributions from leading authors in the field of international criminal law
Contains an interview with Major Murray Ormsby, former prosecutor and judge at the Hong Kong war crimes trials

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the British military held 46 trials in Hong Kong in which 123 defendants, from Japan and Formosa (Taiwan), were tried for war crimes. This book provides the first comprehensive legal analysis of these trials. The subject matter of the trials spanned war crimes committed during the fall of Hong Kong, its occupation, and in the period after the capitulation following the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but before the formal surrender. They included killings of hors de combat, abuses in prisoner-of-war camps, abuse and murder of civilians during the military occupation, forced labour, and offences on the High Seas. The events adjudicated included those from Hong Kong, China, Japan, the High Seas, and Formosa (Taiwan). Taking place in the same historical period as the more famous Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, the Hong Kong war crimes trials provide key insights into events of the time, and the development of international criminal law and procedure in this period.

A team of experts in international criminal law examine these trials in detail, placing them in their historical context, investigating how the courts conducted their proceedings and adjudicated acts alleged to be war crimes, and evaluating the extent to which the Hong Kong trials contributed to the development of contemporary issues, such as joint criminal enterprise and superior orders. There is also comparative analysis with contemporaneous proceedings, such as the Australian War Crimes trials, trials in China, and those conducted by the British in Singapore and Germany, placing them within the wider history of international justice. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of international criminal law and procedure.

Readership: Scholars and students of international criminal law and the history of international law; legal historians

Judge Liu Daqun: Foreword
Kevin Zervos, SC: Foreword
1: Suzannah Linton: Introduction
2: Suzannah Linton: Major Murray Ormsby: Prosecutor and Judge of the Hong Kong Military Courts 1946-1948
3: Alexander Zahar: Trial Procedure at the British Military Courts, Hong Kong, 1946-1948
4: Yuma Totani: The Prisoner of War Camp Trials
5: Suzannah Linton: War Crimes
6: Nina Jørgensen: On Being "Concerned" in a Crime: Embryonic Joint Criminal Enterprise
7: Bing Bing Jia: The Plea of Superior Orders in the Hong Kong Trials
8: Roger Clark: Concluding Analysis

Edited by Suzannah Linton, Professor of International Law, University of Bangor

Suzannah Linton is Professor of International Law at Bangor Law School, Bangor University, in the United Kingdom. She is on the IEF Steering Board and coordinates Working Group 5 on Trial Proceedings. Professor Linton was previously at the University of Hong Kong, where she directed the LLM in Human Rights programme from 2005-2009. Professor Linton teaches Public International Law, and specialised options such as International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. Professor Linton has wide practical work experience with international courts and tribunals, and international organisations, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She recently launched a major website providing global access to Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials, as part of the same project that has resulted in this book.

Contributors:
Bing Bing Jia - Tsinghua University
Roger Clark - Rutgers School of Law
Nina Jørgensen - The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Judge Liu Daqun - International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Yuma Totani - University of Hawai'i
Alexander Zahar - Macquarie University
Kevin Zervos, SC - Director of Public Prosecutions, Hong Kong