International courts in the nineteenth century called “mixed commissions” were crucial in eliminating the transatlantic slave trade.

In her book The Slave Trade and the Origins of International Human Rights Law, Jenny S. Martinez, the Warren Christopher Professor in the Practice of International Law and Diplomacy, delves into the history of the transatlantic slave trade and examines the international human rights tribunals that were set up in countries like Sierra Leone, Brazil, and Cuba in order to hear slavery cases. These courts, she argues, were the first international courts designed to try “crimes against humanity” and evolved into the modern system of international legal protections that exists today.