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M. Cherif Bassiouni, Crimes Against Humanity: Historical Evolution and Contemporary Application (New York: Cambridge University Press 2011), 845 pages, ISBN 9781107001152.
I. INTRODUCTION
Crimes Against Humanity: Historical Evolution and Contemporary Application (hereinafter "Crimes Against Humanity") represents the latest valuable tome on the topic of crimes against humanity (hereinafter "CAH") from a giant in the field of international criminal law (hereinafter "ICL") and one of the "leading experts on crimes against humanity."1 Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni not only is a leading ICL scholar; he also has vast experience in working with and shaping the law of CAH. To name but a few of his accomplishments, after drafting the CAH provision of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Bassiouni tackled that of the International Criminal Court (ICC), as the Vice Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Establishment of the International Criminal Court and later the Preparatory Committee for the Establishment of an International Criminal Court and finally as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the United Nations Diplomatic Conference on the ICC.2 Most recently, Bassiouni served as Chair of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry established pursuant to Royal Order of the King of Bahrain and Chair, as well as member of the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry for Libya.
Crimes Against Humanity offers a comprehensive account of the law and history of CAH. It discusses at length the evolution of the definition and elements of CAH. The book also takes a broader look at the institutions and mechanisms available to address mass atrocity. Crimes Against Humanity distinguishes itself from other works on CAH and, indeed, Bassiouni's own previous book on CAH3 with its discussion of the "jurisprudential developments of CAH, from the post- World War II proceedings to the ICTY, ICTR (the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda), the ICC, and the mixedmodel tribunals," as well as its extensive survey of national legislation and national prosecution of CAH.4
The book, just shy of 850 pages, with tables and indices, is not a quick read. It is replete with lengthy quotes from scholars, prosecutors, judges, and other key players, from the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg (IMT), the ICTY, and other institutions where the law of CAH has developed. Rather...