http://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2009/03/30/rule-of-law-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-building-a-%e2%80%9cculture-of-rules%e2%80%9d-from-the-bottom-up/ Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:08:33 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2009/03/30/rule-of-law-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-building-a-%e2%80%9cculture-of-rules%e2%80%9d-from-the-bottom-up/comment-page-1/#comment-19018 Nick Heitman Sun, 12 Apr 2009 05:24:39 +0000 http://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/?p=4476#comment-19018 I believe it is the government's role to "sell" the institutional reform to get people to buy into it. It has to be known that the changes being made are not just because different people are in charge, but because the past administration was wrong and that behavior is intolerable. I do feel that the prosecution of war criminals is important and aids in establishing the rule of law in these places. However, I also feel that to force a country that is teetering on the brink of civil war to prosecute past offenders, or to be forced to give reparations to victims, may be asking a bit much. The inner workings of the system are the things that must be restored first; otherwise, how is everything else suppose to fall into place? I believe it is the government’s role to “sell” the institutional reform to get people to buy into it. It has to be known that the changes being made are not just because different people are in charge, but because the past administration was wrong and that behavior is intolerable. I do feel that the prosecution of war criminals is important and aids in establishing the rule of law in these places. However, I also feel that to force a country that is teetering on the brink of civil war to prosecute past offenders, or to be forced to give reparations to victims, may be asking a bit much. The inner workings of the system are the things that must be restored first; otherwise, how is everything else suppose to fall into place?

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