Culture-Specific Evidence before Internationalized Criminal Courts: Lessons from Asian Jurisdictions

Abstract

As commentators press the ICC and other internationalized criminal courts to adopt a more sensitive approach to culture-specific evidence when determining individual criminal responsibility, this article argues that important lessons may be obtained from Asian jurisdictions where courts have discussed and assessed such evidence. The Asian examples studied here highlight the possibilities and challenges of having court consider culture-specific evidence. By comparing judicial experiences, this article also shows that a more sensitive judicial approach to culture-specific evidence may be cultivated if attention is given not only to the cultural knowledge of judges, but also the court’s broader legal architecture, the position of the accused, and judicial identity.

Keywords: Culture-Specific Evidence, Internationalized Criminal Courts, Asian Jurisdictions, International Criminal Law, Law and Culture