Dictators in the Dock

Two courtrooms, two dictators accused of genocide and war crimes, and both offering the same defense — it's a riveting moment in the history of global justice. But despite the obvious similarities, the trials of Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein represent two fundamentally different approaches to international prosecutions. And one of them is deeply flawed.

In the Hague this week, former Yugoslav President Milosevic is scheduled to take the floor in his own defense. He faces charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, as well as conducting a campaign of genocide against Bosnian Muslims — yet an...