ABSTRACT
General Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator (1973–1990) was been mentioned previously in our discussion of Missing (FF-3). His name is now synonymous with the “Pinochet principle,” under which any state can bring to trial those who directed or carried out gross and systematic human rights violations or violations of peremptory norms (such as torture). The following film provides an insightful account of this case and its aftermath. Unfortunately, a short time after these legal proceedings in the United Kingdom, the International Court of Justice ruled that while former heads of state (such as Pinochet) can be tried in this manner, present heads of states (and other government ministers) cannot legally be held to account in the domestic courts of another country; such measures could only be conducted through international institutions, such as the newly created International Criminal Court (ICC).
