Judicial Responses

Judicial Responses refer to legal efforts to address the past and to redress past wrongs.

These include international courts such as Nuremberg and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. These courts transcend domestic jurisdiction, claiming that the crimes committed in the particular state are “crimes against humanity,” not just local crimes. These courts also are used when a country cannot or will not prosecute the accused. This notion of ability and willingness is also the motivation behind the new International Criminal Court, a court of last resort, designed to address major human rights abuses when a country cannot or will not prosecute on their own. There are also domestic prosecutorial efforts that may come in the form of civil or criminal trials.
  • Nuremberg Trials Fact Sheet
    (Germany)

    The international military tribunals, now commonly called the Nuremberg Trials, was a landmark event. For the first time in history, individuals were tried for "crimes against humanity" in an international court of law. This resource provides basic information regarding the trials.

  • Testimony from Nuremberg Prosecutors and Defendants
    (Germany)

    This resource provides statements and testimonies from prosecutors and defendants in the Nuremberg trials.

  • A Critical Look at Nuremberg
    (Germany)

    Former New York Times executive editor and columnist Max Frankel fled Nazi Germany as a child. In this reading, which quotes extensively from a column Frankel wrote in 1995 when tribunals were being created for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, the writer reflects on the Nuremberg trials and their legacies.

  • Telling Right from Wrong
    (Germany)

    The notion of forgiving another human being for horrible acts against you, your loved ones, or your community, is a complex one. This reading looks at the question of forgiveness. Can such horror truly be forgiven? How important is it for people who committed such acts to ask for forgiveness, and for the victims (or their loved ones) to forgive, so that a society might heal, rebuild, and prevent atrocities from happening again?