NCJ Number
147135
Date Published
1993
Length
152 pages
Annotation
This book on the Tokyo Trial, the international military tribunal that took place at the end of World War II, is based on extensive interviews conducted with one of the judges who took part in that trial.
Abstract
The introductory chapter discusses the London Conference of 1945, at which the four Allied Powers decided how to punish wartime leaders who were deemed to have committed crimes against peace and humanity. The discussion focuses on differences between the Nuremberg and Tokyo Charters, the Tokyo proceedings, the controversy surrounding the Tokyo Trial, and the scant availability of trial records. The chapter also outlines the career, major works, and basic ideas of the judge interviewed for this book, B.V.A. Roling. The core of the book discusses the Tokyo Trial in terms of the involvement of Judge Roling, the conduct of the proceedings, the charges, the verdict, the objectives of the trial, an assessment of the trial, and the legal contribution of both the Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials. The final sections analyze Roling's views on the impact the Trials had on the development of international law in the areas of aggression and other international crimes, and the implications of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; possible strategies for peace, including peace research, deterrence and disarmament, and the laws of war; and the current state of international law. Chapter references