Van Schaack, Beth

Beth Van Schaack is Assistant Professor of Law at Santa Clara University School of Law where she teaches public international law, international criminal law, and transitional justice. Previously, she was a law clerk with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the Acting Director of the Center for Justice & Accountability. She was also in private practice with Morrison & Foerster LLP. She has been a legal advisor to the Documentation Center of Cambodia since 1995. She received her J.D. from Yale Law School and her B.A. from Stanford University.

Bringing the Khmer Rouge to Justice

2005 0-7734-5994-4
This book explores the legal issues surrounding accountability for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge and crimes of mass violence more generally. Comprising chapters authored by legal academics, lawyers, historians, artists, and others, the volume presents a thorough analysis of the complex problems inherent to such accountability efforts, and novel ideas as how to address them. Three chapters take the important and unusual step of examining aspects of accountability from the Cambodian and/or Therav?da Buddhist perspective, a viewpoint that has rarely been considered before in this context. Other chapters present thoughtful explanations for the failure of past accountability efforts, examine holes in the law authorizing a tribunal for senior Khmer Rouge leaders, and outline the evidence available and how it can be used for such a trial. Thus, the book presents the case for accountability in Cambodia from multiple perspectives.