Building the Conscience of Humankind: An Analysis of the Use of Selective Imagery on the 75th Anniversary of International Criminal Justice
| Author | Kevin Gerenni |
| Position | Assistant Lecturer in Public International Law at Universidad de Buenos Aires |
| Pages | 209-222 |
2021 LSE LAW REVIEW
209
Building the Conscience of Humankind: An Analysis of
the Use of Selective Imagery on the 75th Anniversary of
International Criminal Justice
Kevin Gerenni*
ABSTRACT
Last November marked the 75th anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg Trials, a
milestone that the Tokyo Trial will in turn reach next May. These two proc eedings instituted
the long-awaited birth of international criminal justice, after the frustrated trial of Kaiser
Wilhelm II following the Great War and the Treaty of Versailles. From the very outse t,
images played a fundamental role in shaping international criminal justice before its audience.
This article analyses how the use of visual e lements (i.e., the depiction of victim suffering) has
been instrumental in driving international criminal justice – and, therefore, law – in ce rtain
directions, whereas censorship (i.e., the depiction of victimlessness) has contributed to the
avoidance of undesired paths. I argue that this manipulation through image has been utilised to
build a conscience of humankind and thus achieve greater legitimacy of international criminal
law in its inaugural trials, while attempting to conceal one of the greatest pitfalls of the field:
selectivity.
* Assistant Lecturer in Public International Law at Universidad de Buenos Aires. Lawyer
(Universidad de Buenos Aires). LLM in Public International Law (LSE) ’21. The author
would like to thank the L SE Law Review and Professor Gerry Simpson for the
stimulating discussions that triggered this piece.
To continue reading
Request your trial