What is it about?

The International Criminal Court applies a legal framework with universalist aspirations in a diverse range of socio-cultural settings. This article reflects on a recent ground-breaking book 'Intersections of Law and Culture at the International Criminal Court' to explore how this important work is reflective of certain understandings of 'law' and 'culture' in international criminal justice and suggests ways to better contextualise the strengths and limitations of this scholarly contribution within the broader pre-existing literature. It explores how this important work is reflective of certain understandings of 'law' and 'culture' in international criminal justice and suggests ways to better contextualise the strengths and limitations of this scholarly contribution within the broader pre-existing literature.

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Why is it important?

'Intersections of Law and Culture at the International Criminal Court' is ground-breaking and it is important to recognise where it stands in relation to the empirical and ethnographic literature on the ICC.

Perspectives

I was pleased to have the opportunity to write this piece reflecting on 'Intersections of Law and Culture at the International Criminal Court' and helped to solidify some of my thoughts on 'culture-speak' within international criminal justice and the risks of presumptive ownership of the subject-cultures of international criminal law (particularly victim groups in Global South countries) by proponents of the international criminal law project.

Tomas Hamilton
Universiteit van Amsterdam

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This page is a summary of: Situating ‘law’ as ‘culture’ in scholarly discourse on the International Criminal Court: a reflection on Fraser and McGonigle Leyh's Intersections of Law and Culture at the International Criminal Court, International Journal of Law in Context, August 2022, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s1744552322000295.
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