Torture as Tort: Comparative Perspectives on the Development of Transnational Human Rights Litigation

(Hardback)

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The controversial nature of seeking globalized justice through national courts has become starkly apparent in the wake of the Pinochet case in which the Spanish legal system sought to bring to account under international criminal law the former President of Chile, for violations in Chile of human rights of non-Spaniards. In this work, leading scholars from around the world address a host of complex issues raised by transnational human rights litigation. There has been, to date, little treatment, let alone a comprehensive assessment, of the merits and demerits of US-style transnational human rights litigation by non-American legal scholars and practitioners. This book seeks not so much to fill the gap as to start the process of doing so, with a view to stimulating debate amongst scholars and policy-makers. The book's doctrinal coverage and analytical inquiries will also be extremely relevant to the world of transnational legal practice beyond the specific question of human rights litigation.

Reviews

...an invaluable contribution to the international legal literature. The value of the book is not solely in the novelty of its subject matter, but also in the thought-provoking, lucid and (sometimes) critical manner in which it deals with the myriad of issues raised by transnational human rights litigation. It is no exaggeration to state that Torture as Tort is now THE reference point of any inquiry by a non-American common-law lawyer seeking to make sense of the explosion of transnational tort litigation in the United States. Professor Scott is to be congratulated for his Herculean accomplishment Franois Larocque and Mark C. Power Osgoode Hall Law Journal August 2003 This book is a great starting point for those interested in th eemerging field of transnational human rights limitation, and also those working in the area of internationalized criminal and human rights justice. It provides necessary and timely insight into a still emerging field ridden with philosophical, procedural, and substantive minefields. Susan Matthews Human Rights Quarterly 2003 Torture as Tort is ... a good book and, above all, a necessary book. Christoph J.M. Safferling European Journal of International Law 2003 the volume might be thought of as a massive, brilliant firework whose sparks may fall who knows where and result perhaps in a huge conflagration of activity. Ralph Beddard British Yearbook of International Law

Author Bio

Craig Scott is Professor of Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, and Director of the Nathanson Centre on Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security of York University, Toronto