U.S. FORCES SOUTHERN COMMAND, Miami -- The American Bar Association recently recognized Maj. Alex Peterson, Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Forces Southern Command, Miami, for his superior contribution to the association and the Marine Corps.
Peterson was awarded the Keith E. Nelson Distinguished Service Award for his visionary article, entitled Order Out of Chaos: Domestic Enforcement of the Law of Internal Armed Conflict, which was published in the March 2002 volume of Military Law Review.
The article-at 129 pages-delves deep into its topic, addresses the concerns that arise when individuals are held accountable for war crimes committed within domestic borders, and proposes enhanced solutions for the future. Recent real-world situations are addressed and support his arguments. "The recent ad hoc international criminal tribunals in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and now the possible implementation of the International Criminal Court, have encouraged greater reliance on international mechanisms to balance these interests. While laudatory, a more effective mechanism is available, domestic tribunals. Domestic tribunals using universal standards can best balance these various interests," he wrote.
Judges for the Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law, who selected the article, included Gary Anderson, Assistant U.S. Attorney and Col. John Jay Douglas, Judge Advocate General Corps, USA (Ret). Peterson competed against lawyers not only from the military, but also employees from other areas of the government or public sector. He traveled to San Francisco to receive the award at the Military Law Committee Luncheon at the 2003 ABA Annual Convention. Peterson was joined by Brig. Gen. Kevin Sandkuhler, Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Presenting the Award on behalf of the ABA was retired RAdm John S. Jenkins, JAGC, USN.
Peterson described his motivation behind this endeavor. "It took about 9 months to write and research the article. I was inspired by observing the debate and the meeting where the (International Criminal Court) was created in Rome. I have always been a bit of a 'people should take care of their own problems and not rely on someone else to do the dirty work for them' kind of person. I saw the ICC as a continuing example of people gladly pushing internal problems off as a way of avoiding the difficulty of addressing it themselves. I was tired of people thinking that democracy implies only rights and forgetting that with democracy comes civic duties, to include prosecuting your war criminals and not waiting for some outside organization to do it for you.
The Colombian-born attorney has a broad range of international experiences, in addition to a string of domestic successes. Peterson has taught international law courses in Argentina, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Italy. At home he has graduated with honors from several schools, both military and civilian and was selected as the American Bar Association's 2001-2002 U.S. Marine Corps Lawyer of the Year.
In concluding the article, Peterson summed up his compelling arguments and suggested improvements. "Although, it is often difficult to accept a regime's prosecutorial decisions, continued emphasis and pressure on national prosecutors to rely on fundamental standards embodied by the Law of Internal Armed Conflict can be successful. State sovereignty must be reinforced... It also must be remembered that diminishing the independent governmental responsibility of a state destroys the possibility of the creation, preservation, or institution of democracy. ...In sum, an international commitment to the domestic enforcement of this new legal regime will capitalize on humanitarian interests by maximizing compliance with the law during an internal armed conflict."