Book Review: The Tokyo trial, justice, and the postwar international order by A. Babovic

• Date: 01 June 2022
• Published date: 01 June 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/1057567720953939
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

about the commission of war crimes, and attempting to develop a relationship with suspects.

However, the author expressed complex challenges in this pursuit, such as the diff‌iculty of

working in countries where a criminally liable regime held immense power. To that end, the inves-

tigator often risked his life to f‌ind criminals in Serbia, having to set traps to f‌inally arrest and pros-

ecute them. In one instance, Dzuro described the trip of Dokmanovic (a war criminal) to Bosnian

territory where the War Tribunal Task Force would later arrest him. Despite having enough evidence

and an arrest warrant, the investigator and his team had to lure Dokmanovic out of Serbia and into an

area where the Task Force and United Nations (U.N.) prosecutor had jurisdiction. To do this, the

team met and cultivated a relationship—through covert operation—with Dokmanovic. Once a

mutual trust was established, the investigation team pretended to help him and his fellow Serbian

ethnic groups recoup lost property in Croatia, assuring them safe passage in the process. This

enticed Dokmanovic to leave Serbia and cross into Bosnia, where he later found himself

apprehended.

Beyond depictions of war and discussions of investigatory tactics, Dzuro presented information

on the trials and fates of the “demons of war,”or the individuals who carried out the atrocities.

The presentation of trial processes attempts to accurately ref‌lect the realities of adjudicating war

crimes, which serves to inform future investigators about what to expect. The adjudicatory

process did not go entirely smoothly as—for example—the Tribunal for War Crimes faced potential

issues of evidence credibility. In the case of Dokmanovic, he attempted to challenge the legality of

his arrest. This prompted Dzuro, in conjunction with the U.N. prosecutor, to get a video tape of the

arrest authenticated, and for experts to match vegetation within the video to the area in which the

arrest took place. This key piece of evidence enabled the prosecutor to prove the arrest was lawfully

made, allowing for Dokmanovic’s prosecution to proceed.

Dzuro also addressed that some key accused individuals committed suicide (Dokmanovic,

Milosevic) or died from other medical conditions (Hadzic), which to a certain degree impeded the

justice process. This provoked further exploration into the mentality of those accused of war

crimes—such as why they could not accept facing the consequences of their actions. To that end,

Dzuro portrayed the “demons”in the Balkan War in precise detail of their personalities and charac-

ters, giving the readers a view of who precipitated the ending of thousands of innocent civilians’

lives.

It is apparent that some governments involved in wars, as much as possible, try to delay comply-

ing with international obligations such as those mandated by International Tribunals. However,

teams like Dzuro’s help ensure that, even when governments attempt to abdicate their role in

holding regimes and other criminals responsible, pursuing justice is always a possibility. This

book can be useful for certain degree programs of universities, such as international relations pro-

grams and law schools, and the material can certainly be used for criminal justice programs. This

book can also serve as a framework for implementing tactical—and even innovative—methods to

investigate and apprehend war criminals, transnational criminals, and organized crime groups.

Babovic, A. (2019). The Tokyo trial, justice, and the postwar international order. Palgrave Macmillan. 178 pp. $59.99,

ISBN: 978-981-13-3477-1.

Reviewed by: Galina Nelaeva ,University of Tyumen, Russia

DOI: 10.1177/1057567720953939

Since their establishment in the aftermath of World War II (WWII), international criminal tribunals

remain an important topic to explore in order to understand the role these institutions play in the

Book Reviews 249