Culture under Cross-Examination

The international community created the Special Court for Sierra Leone to prosecute those who bore the greatest responsibility for crimes committed during the country's devastating civil war. In this book Tim Kelsall examines some of the challenges posed by the fact that the Court operated in a largely unfamiliar culture, in which the way local people thought about rights, agency and truth-telling sometimes differed radically from the way international lawyers think about these things. By applying an anthro-political perspective to the trials, he unveils a variety of ethical, epistemological, jurisprudential and procedural problems, arguing that although touted as a promising hybrid, the Court failed in crucial ways to adapt to the local culture concerned. Culture matters, and international justice requires a more dialogical, multicultural approach.

'… relevant and important … Kelsall's book makes a significant contribution to our knowledge of the SCSL and of the social and legal context in which it operated.' Rachel Kerr, International Journal of Transitional Justice, 'Kelsall's account is well-balanced and highlights the strategies of prosecution and defence as well as the political dimension of the trial, which was highly controversial in Sierra Leone.' Gerhard Anders, African Affairs

Tim Kelsall works as an Associate of the Africa, Politics and Power Programme and as a Visiting Fellow at the Berkeley War Crimes Studies Center based in Phnom Penh. In the past he has taught Politics at the universities of Oxford and Newcastle and has been an editor of the journal African Affairs.