ABSTRACT
On 8 August 1945, Nuremberg became synonymous with international criminal justice: twenty-two former Nazi leaders were tried for their roles in committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace during the Second World War. Nuremberg, site of the infamous Nazi party rallies to bolster support for Hitler and his policy of utter disregard of the most basic human rights, became the place for setting precedents of a different kind. For the fi rst time, individuals were held accountable for their actions; excuses of following orders, state sovereignty and command responsibility were brushed aside. The precedents set at Nuremberg opened the way for subsequent developments in the politics of judicial intervention: intervention that aims to ensure that the most serious human rights abuses do not go unpunished and that impunity is replaced with accountability.
