NCJ Number
210911
Journal
British Journal of Criminlogy Volume: 45 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 504-527
Date Published
July 2005
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the range of strategies employed by states to conceal their responsibility in state crime through “othering” both perpetrators and victims, through a range of frameworks and it explores the historical and contemporary techniques of concealment.
Abstract
A basic principle of human rights law and indeed most domestic legal systems is that the state is legally responsible for the actions of its agents. However, evidence indicates that a longstanding strategy for evasion of responsibility for actions carried out in pursuance of its organizational goals is for state agencies to put distance between themselves and those actors responsible for conducting illegal activities on their behalf. This paper examines those actions of the state or state crimes which fall under the jurisdiction of the different forms of international justice, such as violations of human rights, humanitarian law, crimes against humanity, and the related developments in international criminal and transitional justice. There is a struggle with the state’s capacity for “othering’ its deviant acts. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part examines strategies through which states seek to “other” the actors who carry out state crimes and the second focuses on similar processes of “othering” the victims of state crimes. The paper concludes with an assessment of the impact of strategies and various efforts to render states accountable for such actions. 1 figure, references