A People's Court: Emotion,Participant Experiences,and the Shaping of Postwar Justice at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, 1946–1948

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (1946–1948) or Tokyo IMT is overlooked for its contributions to modern international criminal justice. Convened to hold Japanese leaders accountable for conspiring to commit aggression, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes during the Second World War, the IMTFE was both a groundbreaking judicial undertaking and a pioneering multilateral institution. This distinction makes it a unique vehicle for exploring the fundamental challenges of both international justice and organisation. Institutions like the IMTFE are usually viewed through broad geopolitical, legal, and ideological lenses. Although important, these approaches miss a singularly important dimension of multilateralism: the human contingencies that impact international bodies. Using unique participant sources, this article presents an intimate “trial's-eye-view” of how working at the IMTFE affected the emotions, psychology, and temperament of its personnel. Participant responses on these very personal levels had profound consequences on the tribunal's proceedings, findings, and legacy. Other factors shaped justice in Tokyo, but the responses identified here were common, and their impact significant. Ultimately, this paper argues that people and their experiences—as much as anything—produced the outcome of justice in Tokyo.     

The Concept of Radicalization as a Source of Confusion

The ubiquity of use of the term “radicalization” suggests a consensus about its meaning, but this article shows through a review of a variety of definitions that no such consensus exists. The article then argues that use of the term is problematic not just for these reasons, but because it is used in three different contexts: the security context, the integration context, and the foreign-policy context. It is argued that each of these contexts has a different agenda, impacted in the case of the integration agenda by the rise of European “neo-nationalism,” and so each uses the term “radical” to mean something different. The use of one term to denote at least three different concepts risks serious confusion. The proposed solution is to abandon the attempt to use “radicalization” as an absolute concept.     

The British Police Experience

[Editor's note] The following is the text Sir Eric St. Johnston delivered before the members of the Wichita Crime Commission at their 24th Annual dinner meeting on October 19, 1977. Sir Eric St. Johnston is formerly of the Chief of Scotland Yard and Chief Inspector of Constabulary for England and Wales. Among others, he is a Knight of the Order of the Thistle, holder of the Commander Order of the British Empire, the Queen's Police Medal and the French Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre. In his text, Sir Eric mentions various similarities and and dissimilarities regarding the police practices of two countries. He is of the opinion that there are a great deal of advantages in a centralized police system as contrasted to the American counterpart. This statement is similar to the Editor's assertion made some ten years ago. [Re: “Police Reorganization As A Deterrent to Crime,” Police, Vol. 12, No. 14, March-April, 1978, pp. 73–79. See also Crime and Delinquency Abstracts, Vol. 16, National Clearinghouse for Mental Health Information of the U.S. Department of HEW, Public Service, 1969, p. 589] Readers will find Sir Eric's text not only timely, stimulating and provocative, but also insightful through his comparison of his long career in English police with that of the United States' police. Certainly his remarks provide police planners and policy makers with what should be most pressing needs for combating the ever-increasing crime in England, the United States, and the world as a whole. The permission to reprint was obtained from Sir Eric by the Editor personally. The Editor wishes to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Maurice W. Corcoran, Managing Director, and his colleagues Mr. Will G. Price, Jr., President; Mr. Jay W. Swanson, Chairman of the Board; Mr. J. A. Mull, Jr., Past President; and Mr. William L. Connelly, Chairman, Annual Dinner Committee; all of the Wichita Crime Commission for their efforts and cooperation.