scholarly journals International Criminal Law's Millennium of Forgotten History

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziv Bohrer
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Community ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
Winston Churchill ◽  
International Military Tribunal ◽  
Military Tribunal ◽  
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

At the close of World War II (WWII), Winston Churchill suggested summarily executing the remaining Nazi leadership. Franklin Delano Roosevelt disagreed, insisting on prosecuting them in an international military tribunal. This is considered the “birth” of International Criminal Law (ICL), following a consensus that “[t]he Nazi atrocities gave rise to the idea that some crimes are so grave as to concern the international community as a whole.” A few earlier instances of penal action against violators of the laws of war are acknowledged, but they are dismissed as unrelated to current ICL, because (presumably) these cases are sporadic domestic legal actions that lack a common doctrine.

scholarly journals Nazi Crimes in Poland. A Never-Ending Search for Justice

2019 ◽  
pp. 142-160
Author(s):  
Hanna Kuczyńska
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
National Courts ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Efficient Machine

This article deals with the model for prosecuting Nazi crimes committed in Poland in the light of the model presently used in international criminal law. It tries to answer the question: should the investigation of crimes of international law be handed over to transnational tribunals? Should they be hybrid tribunals involving a national factor, or completely supra-national tribunals like the International Criminal Court? Is it legitimate to transfer jurisdiction over these matters to national courts? The case of unpunished Nazi crimes in Poland may give a partial answer to this question. Certainly, various attempts made after World War II, including procedures brought before Polish courts, have contributed to understanding the function of international criminal law, and finding the answer to the question of the best model for prosecuting crimes of international law. At present, we also have the experience of international criminal tribunals, in particular the ICC, which is an efficient machine for prosecuting crimes of international law. Interesting conclusions can be drawn from its functioning that could improve the work of Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) prosecutors, and shed new light on the considerations regarding the prosecution of Nazi crimes in Poland after World War II.

scholarly journals Prosecutor v. Ayyash et al. (Special Trib. Leb.)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-91
Author(s):  
Michael Lysander Fremuth
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
International Character

The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998 constitutes a landmark in the development of International Criminal Law (ICL), which gained its first momentum after World War II through the foundation of International Military Tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo. ICL is, however, not confined to these most prominent courts or their statutes providing for definitions of international crimes under their respective jurisdiction; rather, ad hoc international, or internationalized and hybrid special tribunals and criminal chambers also contribute to the development and shape of ICL and reflect its diverse legal and institutional basis. Perceived as another tribunal of “international character,” on August 18, 2020, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) pronounced its judgment on the merits in the Ayyash case. The long-awaited verdict raises the question of the Tribunal's contribution to the further evolution of ICL.

Defining Genocide

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 149-169
Author(s):  
Melanie O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
Post World War Ii ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Key Terms

This article traces the historical development of the term “genocide” and discusses how it evolved from a post-World War II concept into a key component of international criminal law. Dr. O’Brien outlines some of the legal challenges that attend several of the key terms in the generally accepted definition of genocide: ‘destroy’, ‘in part’, ‘groups’, ‘intent’, and so on. She then concludes with an important and politically nuanced point essential to understanding the politics and afterlife of the Rwanda genocide – the weight of the “g” word.

s.IV Crimes, Ch.14 From Aggression to Atrocity: Rethinking the History of International Criminal Law

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moyn Samuel
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Explanatory Hypothesis ◽  
International Military Tribunal ◽  
Military Tribunal ◽  
The Usa ◽  
History Of ◽  
A Priority ◽  
Us Intervention

This chapter argues that, although the Nuremberg proceedings, otherwise known as the International Military Tribunal (IMT), were heavily focused on the crime of aggression, international criminal law’s (ICL) emphasis has shifted dramatically. Since the reinvention of ICL in 1990s, it has foregrounded atrocity. ICL is often presented as following a smooth trajectory, but actually there was a reversal or massive shift, from a priority on aggression to its near exclusion. The focus on atrocity—and the aspiration to make war ‘clean’—may humanize war rather than stigmatize it, and perhaps even enable war instead of limit it. This chapter suggests, as an explanatory hypothesis, that Nuremberg took place during a ‘passing window of plausibility’: the USA has generally opposed the criminal prohibition of aggression, either because such a system might demand US intervention or because it might pass judgment on US interventions. Circumstances aligned to allow the Nuremberg proceedings, after which ICL stalled again, and the switch to an atrocity focus helped fill the resulting void.

The Principle of Complementarity: A Reflection on Its Meaning, Origin and Types in International Criminal Law

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-94
Author(s):  
Muyiwa Adigun
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
First World ◽  
Principle Of Complementarity

The principle of complementarity is one of the most important concepts in international criminal law as it defines the relationship between international criminal tribunals and domestic courts. Certain claims have been made in respect of this concept thus this study examines the correctness of the claims made. The study finds that the concept is claimed to have originated from the sciences and that its expression in international criminal law has taken a distinctive form different from that in the sciences, that it is traceable to the First World War and that there are at least about four categories of the concept. The study, however, argues that while the concept originated from the sciences, its expression in international criminal law is no different from that in the sciences, that it is traceable to the trial of Peter von Hagenbach in 1474 (the Breisach Trial) and that there are at least five categories of the concept. The study therefore concludes that the claims made are incorrect.

Terorizmus – zločin podľa medzinárodného práva?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukáš Mareček
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Community ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Principle Of Legality

Terrorism is a fenomena that is seriously threatening values and interests of the international community. Despite of that the international community was not able to settle its definition yet. If the definition is absent then supression of terorizm by means of international criminal law is in conflict with the principle of legality. Solving of this question is a precondition for evental creation of international criminal organs. In spite of that the issue was not settled the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was created which had crime of terrorism in its jurisdiction ratione materiae. The aims of this paper is to analyse how the Special Tribunal for Lebanon dealt with this problem and to evaluate soundness of its argumentation.

The Birth of Atrocity Speech Law Part 1

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory S. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Genocide Convention ◽  
International Military Tribunal ◽  
Military Tribunal ◽  
Comparable Control

Chapter 3 considers the initial choices made by the newly formed body of international criminal law vis-à-vis atrocity speech. The framers of the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal (IMT) recognized that Nazi barbarities were rooted in propaganda. Article 6(c) of the IMT Charter”(and a comparable Control Council Law No. 10 provision) permitted prosecutors to charge “crimes against humanity” against Nazi defendants, including Julius Streicher and Hans Fritzsche (before the IMT) and Otto Dietrich (before an American tribunal). This novel offense criminalized certain heinous acts committed against civilians that were outside the ambit of war crimes, including hate speech as persecution. The chapter then considers the origins of the Genocide Convention and its pioneering formulation of the incitement crime. Finally, it examines the ad hoc tribunal statutes and the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court, each of which criminalizes incitement to genocide, persecution as a crime against humanity, instigation, and ordering.

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