ABSTRACT
Is there a place for the historian in a courtroom? The subject generates heated, albeit disconnected debates characterized by all-too-quick and decisive responses, affirmative as well as dismissive. Opinions are equally divided among practitioners. “A historian? In my courtroom?” The judge in Belgrade was staring at me, genuinely bewildered. “Who ever heard of such a thing?” His colleague, a prosecutor at The Hague, was musing at length about the merits of historical expert testimony, even claiming that he personally introduced this innovation into international criminal law. Although my interlocutors differed sharply over the role of historical forensics, they were equally in the dark about its evolution. This struck me as strange, given that historians actively participated in some of the most important legal ventures of the last century, from the Dreyfus case to the Milošević trial. However, as their contribution remains obscured and controversial, I grew convinced that a monographic overview of the evolution of historical expert witnessing is in order. Therefore, shedding some light on the neglected history of historical expert witnessing is a principal theme of this book. Its aim is to advance the discussion, in hope that nuanced understanding of this practice’s past could improve its future courtroom manifestations.
