Sovereignty and Justice

Reviews / Votes

'Since the war in Kosovo, Mark Ellis has been one of the international community's most forceful advocates for accountability through international justice. Widely recognised for his years of experience in the area of international law, he has produced a meticulously researched, thought-provoking, and compelling book on the intersection between international and domestic criminal justice, which should be a must read by anyone with an interest in this field.' - Michael P. Scharf, Case Western Reserve University School of Law. "This is an important and provocative book by one of the world's leading experts on international criminal justice. Dr. Ellis argues that the International Criminal Court is losing some of its credibility with nation states and that the future of international justice lies not in The Hague but with domestic war crimes courts that meet international standards."- John Bellinger is an adjunct senior fellow in international and national security law at the Council on Foreign Relations. He was the US State Department's legal adviser from 2005 to 2009."Mark Ellis takes on the critical issues facing international criminal justice. His approach is rightly framed on the complementarity principle, taking an unflinching look at international, national and hybrid courts yet providing thoughtful analysis and proposals to address these issues. This book is an important and timely contribution on a critically important topic."- David Tolbert is President of the International Center for Transitional Justice. Mr Tolbert previously served as Deputy Prosecutor of the ICTY and registrar of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Prior to that he was assistant secretary-general and special expert to the United Nations secretary-general on United Nations Assistance to the Khmer Rouge Trials.'Dr Mark Ellis in this excellent book reviews all the controversial issues that surround the principle of complementarity that forms the bedrock of the ICC model for international criminal justice. He has been involved in the development of the international courts from the early days of the ICTY and brings this wide experience to bear upon his analysis of this complex area. The solution he suggests to ensure an improvement of the effectiveness and quality of justice is well considered and commendable.'- Steven Kay, QC, represented Croatian Colonel General Ivan Cermak and Slobodan Milosevic at the ICTY. He is currently representing the Deputy Prime Minister of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta at the ICC.'Dr. Ellis combines his exemplary scholarly account with his practical experiences as a first class international lawyer in tackling some of the most devastating humanitarian injustices. He sees the writing on the wall and forces our collective conscience to determine unsettlingly whether or not we truly need more war crimes to understand the limitation of the system. Sovereignty and Justice is not only a required reading for both students of international law and international relations theory, but indeed, an essential guidebook for post-conflict transitional statecraft.' - Malik R. Dahlan, Principal, Institution Quraysh for Law & Policy,Qater"Mark Ellis, an active participant in the history of international criminal courts, makes a strong and meticulously documented argument that the ICC's doctrine of complementarity is the only way forward. His comprehensive compilation of the past and his innovative proposals for future change in the operation of this intriguing doctrine makes this book a must-read for anyone who cares about justice."-Judge Patricia Wald, former judge on the ICTY