Table of Contents

Judge Liu Daqun: Foreword Kevin Zervos, SC: Foreword 1: Suzannah Linton: Introduction 2: Suzannah Linton: Major Murray Ormsby: Prosecutor and Judge of the Hong Kong Military Courts 1946-1948 3: Alexander Zahar: Trial Procedure at the British Military Courts, Hong Kong, 1946-1948 4: Yuma Totani: The Prisoner of War Camp Trials 5: Suzannah Linton: War Crimes 6: Nina Jorgensen: On Being "Concerned" in a Crime: Embryonic Joint Criminal Enterprise 7: Bing Bing Jia: The Plea of Superior Orders in the Hong Kong Trials 8: Roger Clark: Concluding Analysis

About the Author

Suzannah Linton is Professor of International Law at Bangor Law School, Bangor University, in the United Kingdom. She is on the IEF Steering Board and coordinates Working Group 5 on Trial Proceedings. Professor Linton was previously at the University of Hong Kong, where she directed the LLM in Human Rights programme from 2005-2009. Professor Linton teaches Public International Law, and specialised options such as International Criminal Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. Professor Linton has wide practical work experience with international courts and tribunals, and international organisations, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She recently launched a major website providing global access to Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials, as part of the same project that has resulted in this book.

Reviews

From a young Chinese lawyer's perspective, the book... represents a gift from the elder generation of international law scholars who demonstrated meticulous archival research, fine interdisciplinary methodology and lawyers' responsibility in the midst of highly emotional and politically driven debates... The publication of Hong Kongs War Crimes Trials marks not the end, but the beginning of a larger, ongoing process for subsequent academics and practitioners alike. * Guo Cai, Journal of International Criminal Justice *
Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials looks at British war crimes prosecutions in its south China colony from 1946 to 1948, and is an important and unique contribution to the history of war crimes trials. This is an important book by outstanding scholars, and it deserves to reach a wide audience. Specialists in military history, law, and international affairs will want to read this fine book, which will also appeal to the general reader. * Frederic Borch III, Military Law Review *
A major contribution to our knowledge of these events. * Colin Day, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch *
Edited by Professor Suzannah Linton, Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials makes an outstanding contribution... We should not be surprised then if a new cohort of ICL historians, inspired by the superior scholarship and doctrinal insights of Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials, soon sets sail in those unchartered archival waters... Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials does an exemplary job of elucidating the history, context and law related to Britain's 1946-48 prosecutions of suspected Japanese war criminals in its south China coast colony. The structure and content of the book lend themselves to a well-organised and comprehensive analysis of the proceedings. * Gregory S Gordon, Melbourne Journal of International Law *
The military courts working in Hong Kong between 1946 and 1948 sent out a message to the world that the rule of law should be based on reason and justice - and not on military force. That is why this collection of essays, examining the legal framework of those trials, remains of contemporary relevance. As Suzannah Linton observes, this is not just a question of compelling Japan to address the crimes that its army committed within living memory throughout Asia. It remains a critical issue because the punishment of war crimes is of continuing importance to the human race. * David Blake Knox, Dublin Review of Books *
These authors' insights reflect their different disciplines and professional experiences. Although the assembled essays are meant chiefly for readers with an interest in international criminal law and procedure, historians of the aftermath of the Second World War will find that they throw light on a neglected area of their subject ... the book's thematic approach to studying the Hong Kong trials ensures that it will be of great interest to both historians and legal scholars ... It is an extremely useful addition to our growing understanding of the "B" and "C" class war crimes trials held after the Pacific War. * Georgina Fitzpatrick, Michigan War Studies Review *
The book offers a clear, authoritative and comprehensive introduction to the subject of Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials. Although, such a book has been long awaited by scholars and practitioners, it can be noted that it was worth waiting for. The editor and contributors have invested a lot of research, time and patience in preparing the book. As a result, their efforts are worthwhile and make the book a very interesting read. In this way, the book is clearly a step forward and an original, valuable and authoritative contribution in the area of domestic prosecutions of war crimes...what is more, the book's editor should be commended for establishing an online database which includes scans of Hong Kong's War Crimes Database. * Professor Jernej Letnar Cernic, DIGNITAS *