International Criminal Prosecution of Physicians: A Critique of Professors Annas and Grodin's Proposed International Medical Tribunal
34 Pages Posted: 7 Apr 2013
Date Written: October 5, 2004
Abstract
In light of the international community’s experiences in creating the ICC, this article analyzes professors Annas and Grodin’s proposed International Medical Tribunal. Part I describes the actions of Nazi physicians during World War II and the trial of these physicians at Nuremberg. Part II explains how, contrary to expectations of those at Nuremberg, physicians continue to take part in widespread violations of human rights. Part III details professors Annas and Grodin’s proposed International Medical Tribunal and their arguments in favor of its creation. Part IV critiques the International Medical Tribunal. Specifically, part IV argues that there is no longer a valid justification for establishing a separate international court for physicians now that the ICC has been formed to prosecute perpetrators of human rights violations; if such an International Medical Tribunal were created, it would fail to achieve professors Annas and Grodin’s purported goals. This article argues that only once nations have codified the rights of victims can national and international tribunals enforce these rights under international criminal law. By examining the evolution from human rights protections to international criminal prohibitions, part V advocates the creation of international law governing physicians, creating the law necessary to transmute into internationalized criminal law. This article concludes that scholars must reengage a human rights framework to protect the victims of medicine, setting the stage for future prosecution of criminal physicians.
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