Barbora Holá
Biographic Data
| ID | 6547750 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Barbora Holá |
| GIVEN NAMES | Barbora |
| FAMILY NAME | Holá |
| SIGNATURE | HOLA B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2371-7031 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 31 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 32 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 28 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 3 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Exploring criminalization and prosecution of wartime collaboration – The case of Ukraine
Collaboration with an enemy during an armed conflict is as old as warfare itself. As a sociopolitical phenomenon it is hard to define, capture and deal with. In essence, collaboration entails assisting the enemy, in the sense that civilians or combatants belonging to one party to the conflict assist the opposing side by, for example, providing information, helping in administration of occupied territories or engaging in propaganda. However, bound…
Myriad meanings
Language serves as a vital conduit through which culture, emotion, and social meaning are conveyed, particularly in judicial contexts where witness testimonies shape the factual record. This study systematically examines the use of coded language and euphemisms in eyewitness testimonies before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Drawing on a qualitative and quantitative analysis of 64 trial transcripts across 16 cases, we inves…
Introduction
This Special Issue examines the multifaceted relationship between war and crime through the lens of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, addressing a longstanding gap in criminological engagement with armed conflict. While international crimes have drawn increasing scholarly attention, the broader criminogenic effects of war: on social order, ‘ordinary’ crime, legal norms, and institutional responses, remain underexplored. The contributions examine h…
Intergenerational Transmission of Punitive Attitudes Toward Atrocity Crimes in Post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina
How do societies and families in post-atrocity settings shape the next generation’s sense of justice for mass crimes? In Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the legacies of war remain deeply embedded in social and political life, this study examines the intergenerational transmission of punitive attitudes. Using survey data from 640 parent-child pairs, we analyze how sentencing preferences shift across generations in response to variations in perpetrat…
Informers Up Close
Informers contribute to the power of repressive regimes. While informers may themselves be victims, and are enlisted by the state, their actions cause other individuals to suffer significant harm. Informers, then, are central to the proliferation of endemic human rights abuses. Through a case study of Communist Czechoslovakia (1945–1989)—and drawing from secret police archives, oral histories, and a broad gamut of secondary sources—this book unea…
Resisting’ while Collaboratively Informing in Communist Czechoslovakia
Informers in the service of state secret police collaborate with authorities and thus contribute to the power of repressive regimes. Through a case-study of Communist Czechoslovakia (1945–1989)—and drawing from secret police archives– this article presents selected stories of informers who in one way or another also ‘resisted’ collaboration with the Czechoslovak State Security (StB). By doing so, we try to further complexify the notions of ’every…
Suspicious minds? Empirical analysis of insider witness assessments at the Icty, ICTR and ICC
The testimonies of insider witnesses are often key to prosecutions of international crimes, despite significant trustworthiness concerns. However, we know little about the practice of judicial assessments of insider testimonies, that is, which factors the judges consider relevant to relying on insider testimony. With this article, we set out to provide a comprehensive, explorative examination of the insider witness assessment factors used by the …
Between Impunity and Justice? Exploring Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Colombia’s Special Sanctions (Sanciones Propias) for International Crimes
∞ The peace agreement signed by the Colombian government and the FARC has an innovative sanctioning regime which, based on a restorative approach, offers non-custodial sanctions as a less punitive form of punishment for international crimes. However, given their leniency, these ‘special sanctions’ have caused controversy. Based on qualitative interviews, this study explores the perceptions of different stakeholders concerning various issues relat…
There is Something Special about War Criminals
This article assesses how the rehabilitation of perpetrators of international crimes is being constructed and evaluated at the domestic level, in particular in Croatia, and how it compares to international practice at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) or International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). The analysis is based on a convenience sample of early release decisions issued by the Croatian…
The Oxford Handbook of Atrocity Crimes
The Oxford Handbook on Atrocity Crimes consolidates and further develops the evolving field of atrocity studies by combining major mono-, inter-, and multidisciplinary research on atrocity crimes in one volume encompassing contributions of leading scholars. Atrocity crimes—war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide—are manifestations of large-scale and systematic criminality committed within specific political, ideological, and societal co…
Oxford Handbook of Atrocity Crimes
Jáchymov’s Hell’
This article treks through the timeworn remnants of Czechoslovakia’s Communist forced and correctional labour uranium camps in the Ore Mountains in the northwest Bohemian region of Jáchymov. These camps held tens of thousands of detainees, largely political prisoners convicted in sham trials or individuals sent there for re-education. Conditions were deplorable. Throughout the 1950s, the young Czechoslovak Communist regime compelled detainees to …
Reimagining the icc
This exploratory study documents International Criminal Court ( icc ) personnel’s perspectives on the effectiveness of the icc . It examines practitioner views on the icc ’s goals, strengths, weaknesses, and effectiveness. Interviews with nine professionals from the Office of the Prosecutor, Defense, and Chambers reveal several themes. Professionals agreed upon the icc ’s greatest strengths: its foundation and its symbolic value. They also named …
A War Criminal’s Remorse
Judicial Witness Assessments at the Icty, ICTR and ICC
Accurate assessment of witness testimonies underpins judicial fact-finding at international criminal courts and tribunals (ICCTs). However, the lack of formal assessment criteria and uncoordinated methods, coupled with advances in the scientific understanding of the psychology of witnessing, calls for a re-examination of the judicial practice. This study critically evaluates the state of the art of witness assessments at the International Crimina…
Balancing ‘the International’ and ‘the Domestic’
As the cornerstone of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the principle of complementarity provides that states have the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute international crimes, and only when they are inactive, unwilling or unable to genuinely investigate and prosecute the ICC may exercise its jurisdiction. However, the relevance of sentences and sanctions, their severity and modalities in the complementarity assessment (CA) …
Perpetrators of International Crimes
Scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds have studied why perpetrators of international crimes commit these horrendous acts. Initially, historians and psychologists focused on this debate, which was heavily centred on the Second World War. Over the years, scholars with more diverse disciplinary backgrounds, studying a wide array of cases, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, began to investigate perpetrators of intern…
Punishment in Negotiated Transitions
The peace agreement recently concluded between the Government of Colombia and the farc - ep not only marked a milestone in the history of Colombia and peace making; it also introduced an unprecedented penal measure: negotiated criminal punishment. This example demonstrates that criminal punishment can be moulded to accommodate the needs of a society undergoing a political transition triggered by a peace negotiation. In the 1990s Garland already p…
Introduction
international criminal law review 19 (
Thousands on the stand
The international criminal courts and tribunals have heard thousands of witnesses in cases of extreme complexity and breadth. Their evidentiary record is overwhelming, with live witness testimony standing out as one of its defining features. Keeping in mind the arguments and policies of judicial efficiency and fairness, this article empirically examines the trends and patterns in viva voce witness numbers at the International Criminal Tribunal fo…
How Legacies of Genocide Are Transmitted in the Family Environment
The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and its aftermath led to large-scale individual traumatization, disruption of family structures, shifts in gender roles, and tensions in communities, which are all ongoing. Previous research around the world has demonstrated the transgenerational effects of mass violence on individuals, families and communities. In Rwanda, in light of recurrent episodes of violence in the past, attention to the potent…
Punishing Genocide
This article compares sentencing of those convicted of participation in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. With over one million people facing trial, Rwanda constitutes the world’s most comprehensive case of criminal accountability after genocide and presents an important case study of punishing genocide. Criminal courts at three different levels— international, domestic, and local—sought justice in the aftermath of the violence. In order to compare pu…
Empirical Study of Insider Witnesses’ Assessments at the International Criminal Court
Insider witnesses play an indispensable role in many international criminal cases. Despite often being essential for linkage evidence, the use of insider witnesses comes with a set of special concerns regarding their credibility, in turn casting doubt on the reliability of their evidence. This explorative empirical study aims to fill the gap in the scholarship and presents an analysis of credibility and reliability assessments of insider witnesse…
Acquittals in International Criminal Justice
Despite the great body of academic research on international criminal justice, little attention has been given to the situation of those who have been acquitted. This article aims to fill this gap by offering an empirical overview of what happens to persons acquitted by the ICTY, ICTR, and the ICC. Rather than providing an in-depth legal analysis, the article emphasizes the challenges acquitted persons encounter. It discusses in particular: (1) t…
The Selection of Situations by the ICC
The main aim of the International Criminal Court ( icc ) is to prosecute the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. One of the most valued features of the icc is the independent position of the Prosecutor in selecting situations and cases to investigate. The Prosecutor, however, has been heavily criticized for his selection policy and countries from the African Union even threatened to withdraw from the icc because of its …
Punishing Genocide
This article compares sentencing of those convicted of participation in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. With over one million people facing trial, Rwanda constitutes the world’s most comprehensive case of criminal accountability after genocide and presents an important case study of punishing genocide. Criminal courts at three different levels— international, domestic, and local—sought justice in the aftermath of the violence. In order to compare pu…
The Selection of Situations by the ICC
The main aim of the International Criminal Court ( icc ) is to prosecute the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. One of the most valued features of the icc is the independent position of the Prosecutor in selecting situations and cases to investigate. The Prosecutor, however, has been heavily criticized for his selection policy and countries from the African Union even threatened to withdraw from the icc because of its …
Is Icty Sentencing Predictable? An Empirical Analysis of Icty Sentencing Practice
This quantitative study analyses the sentencing practice of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The sentencing process is only loosely regulated by the ICTY Statute, and consequently it is not clear how judges exercise their broad discretionary sentencing powers in practice. By analysing the existing case law, legal factors influencing the sentencing decisions are examined. The extent to which the selected factor…
How Legacies of Genocide Are Transmitted in the Family Environment
The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and its aftermath led to large-scale individual traumatization, disruption of family structures, shifts in gender roles, and tensions in communities, which are all ongoing. Previous research around the world has demonstrated the transgenerational effects of mass violence on individuals, families and communities. In Rwanda, in light of recurrent episodes of violence in the past, attention to the potent…
International Sentencing Facts and Figures
This comparative, empirical study analyses the sentencing practice of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). It would appear that there are large differences in ICTY and ICTR sentencing practice. This apparent divergence is examined in greater detail by describing the sentencing behaviour of the courts in relation to different categories of crime, types of of…
Judicial Witness Assessments at the Icty, ICTR and ICC
Accurate assessment of witness testimonies underpins judicial fact-finding at international criminal courts and tribunals (ICCTs). However, the lack of formal assessment criteria and uncoordinated methods, coupled with advances in the scientific understanding of the psychology of witnessing, calls for a re-examination of the judicial practice. This study critically evaluates the state of the art of witness assessments at the International Crimina…
Sixty-Five Years of International Criminal Justice
The international criminal justice system comprises nine international criminal courts and tribunals; six are still operational and three have closed down. On average, they operated for almost nine years apiece and concluded 172 cases in which over 250 judges and 23 chief prosecutors were involved. All in all 745 suspects were indicted, 356 were actually tried and, of these, some 281 defendants were convicted. Currently 34 suspects are on trial a…
Jáchymov’s Hell’
This article treks through the timeworn remnants of Czechoslovakia’s Communist forced and correctional labour uranium camps in the Ore Mountains in the northwest Bohemian region of Jáchymov. These camps held tens of thousands of detainees, largely political prisoners convicted in sham trials or individuals sent there for re-education. Conditions were deplorable. Throughout the 1950s, the young Czechoslovak Communist regime compelled detainees to …
Thousands on the stand
The international criminal courts and tribunals have heard thousands of witnesses in cases of extreme complexity and breadth. Their evidentiary record is overwhelming, with live witness testimony standing out as one of its defining features. Keeping in mind the arguments and policies of judicial efficiency and fairness, this article empirically examines the trends and patterns in viva voce witness numbers at the International Criminal Tribunal fo…
Acquittals in International Criminal Justice
Despite the great body of academic research on international criminal justice, little attention has been given to the situation of those who have been acquitted. This article aims to fill this gap by offering an empirical overview of what happens to persons acquitted by the ICTY, ICTR, and the ICC. Rather than providing an in-depth legal analysis, the article emphasizes the challenges acquitted persons encounter. It discusses in particular: (1) t…
Is Icty Sentencing Predictable? An Empirical Analysis of Icty Sentencing Practice
This quantitative study analyses the sentencing practice of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The sentencing process is only loosely regulated by the ICTY Statute, and consequently it is not clear how judges exercise their broad discretionary sentencing powers in practice. By analysing the existing case law, legal factors influencing the sentencing decisions are examined. The extent to which the selected factor…
Punishment for Genocide – Exploratory Analysis of ICTR Sentencing
The sentencing practice of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is a relatively neglected topic in academic discussions. The few empirical studies on sentencing of international crimes have focused primarily on the sentencing practice of its 'sister court', the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Unlike ICTY defendants, almost all ICTR defendants have been convicted of and sentenced for genocide – ar…
International Sentencing Facts and Figures
This comparative, empirical study analyses the sentencing practice of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). It would appear that there are large differences in ICTY and ICTR sentencing practice. This apparent divergence is examined in greater detail by describing the sentencing behaviour of the courts in relation to different categories of crime, types of of…
Sixty-Five Years of International Criminal Justice
The international criminal justice system comprises nine international criminal courts and tribunals; six are still operational and three have closed down. On average, they operated for almost nine years apiece and concluded 172 cases in which over 250 judges and 23 chief prosecutors were involved. All in all 745 suspects were indicted, 356 were actually tried and, of these, some 281 defendants were convicted. Currently 34 suspects are on trial a…
Rehabilitation and Early Release of Perpetrators of International Crimes
While cited as one of the goals of international sentencing and used as a factor for deciding on early release, rehabilitation of perpetrators of international crimes has thus far been neglected by academia and practitioners. This article presents an analysis of all ICTY and ICTR early release decisions handed down until July 2013, indicating how the tribunals have conceptualised rehabilitation of these ‘enemies of mankind’. After observing that …
Life after Conviction at International Criminal Tribunals
As of July 2013, the ICTY, ICTR and SCSL have together convicted and sentenced over 120 perpetrators of international crimes committed during the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, respectively. Only 13% of these convicts serve life imprisonment. The vast majority has been sentenced to determinate sentences. According to the tribunals' Statutes convicted persons serve their sentences in a country designated by a tribunal…
The Selection of Situations by the ICC
The main aim of the International Criminal Court ( icc ) is to prosecute the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. One of the most valued features of the icc is the independent position of the Prosecutor in selecting situations and cases to investigate. The Prosecutor, however, has been heavily criticized for his selection policy and countries from the African Union even threatened to withdraw from the icc because of its …
Punishing Genocide
This article compares sentencing of those convicted of participation in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. With over one million people facing trial, Rwanda constitutes the world’s most comprehensive case of criminal accountability after genocide and presents an important case study of punishing genocide. Criminal courts at three different levels— international, domestic, and local—sought justice in the aftermath of the violence. In order to compare pu…
Empirical Study of Insider Witnesses’ Assessments at the International Criminal Court
Insider witnesses play an indispensable role in many international criminal cases. Despite often being essential for linkage evidence, the use of insider witnesses comes with a set of special concerns regarding their credibility, in turn casting doubt on the reliability of their evidence. This explorative empirical study aims to fill the gap in the scholarship and presents an analysis of credibility and reliability assessments of insider witnesse…
Acquittals in International Criminal Justice
Despite the great body of academic research on international criminal justice, little attention has been given to the situation of those who have been acquitted. This article aims to fill this gap by offering an empirical overview of what happens to persons acquitted by the ICTY, ICTR, and the ICC. Rather than providing an in-depth legal analysis, the article emphasizes the challenges acquitted persons encounter. It discusses in particular: (1) t…
How Legacies of Genocide Are Transmitted in the Family Environment
The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and its aftermath led to large-scale individual traumatization, disruption of family structures, shifts in gender roles, and tensions in communities, which are all ongoing. Previous research around the world has demonstrated the transgenerational effects of mass violence on individuals, families and communities. In Rwanda, in light of recurrent episodes of violence in the past, attention to the potent…
Perpetrators of International Crimes
Scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds have studied why perpetrators of international crimes commit these horrendous acts. Initially, historians and psychologists focused on this debate, which was heavily centred on the Second World War. Over the years, scholars with more diverse disciplinary backgrounds, studying a wide array of cases, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, began to investigate perpetrators of intern…
Punishment in Negotiated Transitions
The peace agreement recently concluded between the Government of Colombia and the farc - ep not only marked a milestone in the history of Colombia and peace making; it also introduced an unprecedented penal measure: negotiated criminal punishment. This example demonstrates that criminal punishment can be moulded to accommodate the needs of a society undergoing a political transition triggered by a peace negotiation. In the 1990s Garland already p…
Introduction
international criminal law review 19 (
Thousands on the stand
The international criminal courts and tribunals have heard thousands of witnesses in cases of extreme complexity and breadth. Their evidentiary record is overwhelming, with live witness testimony standing out as one of its defining features. Keeping in mind the arguments and policies of judicial efficiency and fairness, this article empirically examines the trends and patterns in viva voce witness numbers at the International Criminal Tribunal fo…
A War Criminal’s Remorse
Judicial Witness Assessments at the Icty, ICTR and ICC
Accurate assessment of witness testimonies underpins judicial fact-finding at international criminal courts and tribunals (ICCTs). However, the lack of formal assessment criteria and uncoordinated methods, coupled with advances in the scientific understanding of the psychology of witnessing, calls for a re-examination of the judicial practice. This study critically evaluates the state of the art of witness assessments at the International Crimina…
Balancing ‘the International’ and ‘the Domestic’
As the cornerstone of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the principle of complementarity provides that states have the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute international crimes, and only when they are inactive, unwilling or unable to genuinely investigate and prosecute the ICC may exercise its jurisdiction. However, the relevance of sentences and sanctions, their severity and modalities in the complementarity assessment (CA) …
Jáchymov’s Hell’
This article treks through the timeworn remnants of Czechoslovakia’s Communist forced and correctional labour uranium camps in the Ore Mountains in the northwest Bohemian region of Jáchymov. These camps held tens of thousands of detainees, largely political prisoners convicted in sham trials or individuals sent there for re-education. Conditions were deplorable. Throughout the 1950s, the young Czechoslovak Communist regime compelled detainees to …
Reimagining the icc
This exploratory study documents International Criminal Court ( icc ) personnel’s perspectives on the effectiveness of the icc . It examines practitioner views on the icc ’s goals, strengths, weaknesses, and effectiveness. Interviews with nine professionals from the Office of the Prosecutor, Defense, and Chambers reveal several themes. Professionals agreed upon the icc ’s greatest strengths: its foundation and its symbolic value. They also named …
The Oxford Handbook of Atrocity Crimes
The Oxford Handbook on Atrocity Crimes consolidates and further develops the evolving field of atrocity studies by combining major mono-, inter-, and multidisciplinary research on atrocity crimes in one volume encompassing contributions of leading scholars. Atrocity crimes—war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide—are manifestations of large-scale and systematic criminality committed within specific political, ideological, and societal co…
Oxford Handbook of Atrocity Crimes
Suspicious minds? Empirical analysis of insider witness assessments at the Icty, ICTR and ICC
The testimonies of insider witnesses are often key to prosecutions of international crimes, despite significant trustworthiness concerns. However, we know little about the practice of judicial assessments of insider testimonies, that is, which factors the judges consider relevant to relying on insider testimony. With this article, we set out to provide a comprehensive, explorative examination of the insider witness assessment factors used by the …
Between Impunity and Justice? Exploring Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Colombia’s Special Sanctions (Sanciones Propias) for International Crimes
∞ The peace agreement signed by the Colombian government and the FARC has an innovative sanctioning regime which, based on a restorative approach, offers non-custodial sanctions as a less punitive form of punishment for international crimes. However, given their leniency, these ‘special sanctions’ have caused controversy. Based on qualitative interviews, this study explores the perceptions of different stakeholders concerning various issues relat…
There is Something Special about War Criminals
This article assesses how the rehabilitation of perpetrators of international crimes is being constructed and evaluated at the domestic level, in particular in Croatia, and how it compares to international practice at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) or International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). The analysis is based on a convenience sample of early release decisions issued by the Croatian…
Political science (25 works) · Law (22 works) · Criminology (19 works) · International Law and Human Rights (18 works) · Law (18 works) · Psychology (15 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Global Peace and Security Dynamics (13 works) · International law (10 works) · Tribunal (9 works)