A Study on Aiding and Abetting Or Otherwise Assisting the Commission of International Crimes
Notions such as complicity, accessory liability, as well as aiding and abetting frequently appear in international criminal law. This study focuses on the relevant legal issues concerning secondary liability as a mode of individual criminal responsibility. The first section of the book looks into the distinction between primary and secondary liability, the nature of secondary liability, and the approaches to prevent secondary liability from being over-inclusive. Additional sections analyze the body of law that has been shaped by the trials conducted in the aftermath of World War II, the trials that have emerged from the ad hoc tribunals for the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), and the trials which has been created by the EU Member States to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The main questions asked are: How does secondary liability relate to a system of perpetration and participation? How is it distinguished from other modes of liability? What are its actus reus and mens rea elements? Particular emphasis has been laid on the substantial and direct effect requirements, as well as on the notion of purposive facilitation. (Series: International Criminal Law - Vol. 3)
The first section of the book looks into the distinction between primary and secondary liability, the nature of secondary liability, and the approaches to prevent secondary liability from being over-inclusive.
"This book is an excellent guide to the realities of this new and rapidly changing legal landscape. It draws together a wide variety of different subjects that are not usually found under the same cover to provide a book that introduces both students and practitioners to international criminal law, whilst examining in detail the power and limitations of the new international criminal courts and tribunals."--BOOK JACKET.
Gravity and the Legitimacy of International Criminal Law
The most commonly cited justification for international criminal law is that it addresses crimes of such gravity that they "shock the conscience of humanity." From decisions about how to define crimes and when to exercise jurisdiction, to limitations on defences and sentencing determinations, gravity rhetoric permeates the discourse of international criminal law. Yet the concept of gravity has thus far remained highly undertheorized. This book uncovers the consequences for the regime's legitimacy of its heavy reliance on the poorly understood idea of gravity. Margaret M. deGuzman argues that gravity's ambiguity may at times enable a thin consensus to emerge around decisions, such as the creation of an institution or the definition of a crime, but that, increasingly, it undermines efforts to build a strong and resilient global justice community. The book suggests ways to reconceptualize gravity in line with global values and goals to better support the long-term legitimacy of international criminal law.
Yet the concept of gravity has thus far remained highly undertheorized. This book uncovers the consequences for the regime's legitimacy of its heavy reliance on the poorly understood idea of gravity.
This work deals with the exclusion of illicitly obtained evidence at the International Criminal Court. At the level of domestic law, the so-called exclusionary rule has always been a very prominent topic. The reason for this is that the way a court of law deals with tainted evidence pertains to a key aspect of procedural fairness. It concerns the balancing of the right to a fair trial with the interest of society in effective law enforcement. At the international level, however, the subject has not yet been discussed in detail. The present research intends to fill this gap. It provides an overview of the approaches of a number of domestic legal systems as well as of the approaches of the UN ad hoc tribunals and the European Court of Human Rights and uses the different perspectives to develop a version of the exclusionary rule which fits the International Criminal Court. The book is highly recommended for practitioners and researchers in the field of international criminal law and especially the law of international criminal evidence. Petra Viebig is a Public Prosecutor at the Staatsanwaltschaft Hamburg, Germany.
"Whose law must I obey? This question is so basic to our legal obligations that it ought to be easy. Specifically, a person considering an action ought to be able to answer this question by the use of law-like rules. This ought to be particularly true of criminal law, which will be the principal focus of this book. Actually, this question is partially unanswerable in the world as it exists today. Whether by accident or design, the current structure and content of law-national and international-sometimes prevents persons (natural or juridical) from being able to answer the question fully at the time of action"--
Specifically, a person considering an action ought to be able to answer this question by the use of law-like rules. This ought to be particularly true of criminal law, which will be the principal focus of this book.
When a perpetrator of an international crime argues in his defence that he did not realise that he had violated the law, is this a reason not to punish him? International crimes constitute serious offences and it could be argued that he who commits such an offence must know his act is punishable. After all, everyone is presumed to know the law. However, convicting someone who is mistaken about the wrongfulness of his act may be in violation of the principle ‘no punishment without guilt’. This book investigates when 'mistake of law' should be a reason to exculpate the perpetrator of an international crime. It demonstrates that the issue of 'mistake of law' goes to the heart of individual criminal responsibility and therewith contributes to the development of a more systematic approach toward the structure of international offences. Valuable for academics and practitioners in the field of International Criminal Law.
This book enquires into the counter-hegemonic capacity of international criminal justice. It highlights perspectives and themes that have thus far often been neglected in the scholarship on (critical approaches to) international criminal justice. Can international criminal justice be viewed as a ‘counter-hegemonic’ project? And if so, under what conditions? In response to these questions, scholars and practitioners from the Global South and North reflect inter alia on the engagement with international criminal justice in the context of Ukraine, Palestine, and minorities in South-Asia while also highlighting the hegemonic tendencies built into the institutional structure of the International Criminal Court on the axes of gender and language. Florian Jeßberger is Professor of Criminal Law and Director of the Franz von Liszt Institute for International Criminal Justice, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. Leonie Steinl is a Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. Kalika Mehta is an Associate Researcher at the Franz von Liszt Institute for International Criminal Justice, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
This course investigates the relationships between international criminal law and other branches of international law. It begins by examining four issues of general international law: the principal sources of international law, jurisdiction and immunities, State responsibility, and use of force. It then explores internationalhumanitarian law, focusing on definitions of war crimes and difficulties in linking IHL and ICL. Next, it examines refugee law, paying particular attention to the exclusion of war criminals from refugee protection and to international crimes that may be related to the rights and treatment of refugees. The final chapter explores the relationship between ICL and human rights law, examining the position of human rights within the Rome Statute of the ICC, as well as the human rights aspects of genocide, crimes against humanity, various procedural rights relating to fair international trials and the contribution of human rights fact-finding mechanisms.
Watch the interview with William Shabas on Relationships Between International Criminal Law and Other Branches of International LawThis course investigates the relationships between international criminal law and other branches of ...
International crimes, such as genocide and crimes against humanity, are complex and difficult to prove, so their prosecutions are costly and time-consuming. As a consequence, international tribunals and domestic bodies have recently made greater use of guilty pleas, many of which have been secured through plea bargaining. This book examines those guilty pleas and the methods used to obtain them, presenting analyses of practices in Sierra Leone, East Timor, Cambodia, Argentina, Bosnia, and Rwanda. Although current plea bargaining practices may be theoretically unsupportable and can give rise to severe victim dissatisfaction, the author argues that the practice is justified as a means of increasing the proportion of international offenders who can be prosecuted. She then incorporates principles drawn from the domestic practice of restorative justice to construct a model guilty plea system to be used for international crimes.
Nancy Combs provides the most thorough treatment we have of it. This is a thoughtful book that exposes the paradoxes in the way rule of law policies work out.
Lessons and legacies of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
This volume examines the legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which was created under Chapter VII of the UN Charter as a mechanism explicitly aimed at the restoration and maintenance of international peace and security. As the ICTY has now entered its twentieth year, this volume reflects on the record and practices of the Tribunal. Since it was established, it has had enormous impact on the procedural, jurisprudential and institutional development of international criminal law, as well as the international criminal justice project. This will be its international legacy, but its legacy in the region where the crimes under its jurisdiction took place is less clear; research has shown that reactions to the ICTY have been mixed among the communities most affected by its work. Bringing together a range of key thinkers in the field, Prosecuting War Crimes explores these findings and discusses why many feel that the ICTY has failed to fully engage with people’s experiences and meet their expectations. This book will be of much interest to students of war crimes, international criminal law, Central and East European politics, human rights, and peace and conflict studies.
This volume examines the legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which was created under Chapter VII of the UN Charter as a mechanism explicitly aimed at the restoration and maintenance of ...
