Leena Grover, Interpreting Crimes in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; Noora Arajärvi, The Changing Nature of Customary International Law: Methods of Interpreting the Concept of Custom in International Criminal Tribunals

This chapter comments on Article 27 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 27 consists two paragraphs that are often confounded but fulfil different functions. Paragraph 1 denies a defence of official capacity, i.e. official capacity as a Head of State or Government, a member of a Government or parliament, an elected representative or a government official shall not exempt a person from criminal responsibility under the Statute. Paragraph 2 amounts to a renunciation, by States Parties to the Rome Statute, of the immunity of their own Head of State to which they are entitled by virtue of customary international law. In contrast with paragraph 1, it is without precedent in international criminal law instruments.

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Part 9 International Cooperation and Judicial Assistance: Coopération Internationale Et Assistance Judiciaire, Art.98 Cooperation with respect to waiver of immunity and consent to surrender/Coopération en relation avec la renonciation à l’immunité et le consentement à la remise

10.1093/law/9780198739777.003.0103 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Schabas William A

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

International Criminal Court ◽

Rome Statute ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

Customary International Law ◽

Legal Norms ◽

Coopération Internationale ◽

Military Activity ◽

Judicial Assistance

This chapter comments on Article 98 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 98 emerged in the context of the debate on grounds to refuse surrender and assistance. The Rome Statute has the potential to conflict with other obligations of States under international law, whether pursuant to customary international law or treaty. In particular, they are required to respect the immunities of diplomats and international officials. States that allow military activity by foreign troops on their territory often have agreements, known as ‘status of forces agreements’ (SOFAs). Article 98 governs these conflicts by, in effect, making obligations of arrest and surrender under the Statute subordinate to other legal norms.

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Part 7 Penalties: Les Peines, Art.80 Non-prejudice to national application of penalties and national laws/Le Statut, l’application des peines par les états et le droit national

10.1093/law/9780198739777.003.0085 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Schabas William A

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Death Penalty ◽

Capital Punishment ◽

International Criminal Court ◽

Rome Statute ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

Customary International Law ◽

Final Draft

This chapter comments on Article 80 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 80 deals with the application by States of penalties prescribed by their national law. The provision was introduced in the final draft, submitted to the Conference early in the day on 17 July 1998, as part of a compromise aimed at calming the objections of a relatively small number of States that had unsuccessfully campaigned to include capital punishment within the range of available penalties in the Rome Statue. Some of these States were concerned that the exclusion of the death penalty would be interpreted as evidence of a growing abolitionist trend internationally and possibly of an emerging norm of customary international law.

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Transformation of Customary Law Through ICC Practice

AJIL Unbound ◽

10.1017/aju.2018.55 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 112 ◽

pp. 182-186 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Fausto Pocar

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

International Criminal Court ◽

Rome Statute ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

Customary Law ◽

Customary International Law

Article 21 of the Rome Statute, in defining the applicable sources of law for the International Criminal Court (ICC), breaks with the practice of the ad hoc tribunals by treating customary international law as only a secondary authority. Nonetheless, customary international law still has an acknowledged role in ICC jurisprudence in filling lacunae in the Rome Statute and aiding in its interpretation. One can also predict other instances in which the application of customary international law will be required. It remains to be seen, however, whether the ICC's use of customary law will lead to that law's further fragmentation or whether that use will instead modify customary law to reflect the ICC Statute.

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International Criminal Court and Ad Hoc Tribunals

The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199560103.003.0026 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 462-478

Author(s):

Richard Goldstone

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

International Criminal Court ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

International Criminal ◽

International Criminal Tribunal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

International Criminal Justice ◽

Single Model ◽

Customary International Law ◽

International Criminal Tribunals

This article discusses contemporary international efforts to consolidate and codify significant portions of existing customary international law. It studies the ad hoc tribunals of the UN and pinpoints the successes and failures of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The ‘completion strategy’ of both international criminal tribunals is discussed. The article also covers the creation of ‘mixed’ courts and a single model for international criminal justice, namely the International Criminal Court.

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Part 2 Jurisdiction, Admissibility, and Applicable Law: Compétence, Recevabilité, Et Droit Applicable, Art.10

10.1093/law/9780198739777.003.0013 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Schabas William A

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Capital Punishment ◽

International Criminal Court ◽

Rome Statute ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

Customary International Law ◽

Applicable Law ◽

Legal Obligations

This chapter comments on Article 10 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 10 is a rare provision in that it has no title to suggest its content. It is not directed at the application and interpretation of the Rome Statute. Rather, it is intended to guide those who invoke the Rome Statute as an authoritative statement of customary international law, or of general international law. It insulates both the conventional and customary legal obligations of States from claims that these are in some way altered by adoption of the Rome Statute. Article 80 of the Statute has a similar purpose, although it is targeted specifically at capital punishment.

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Head of State Immunity and the Rome Statute: A Critique of the ptc’s Malawi and drc Decisions

International Criminal Law Review ◽

10.1163/15718123-01604003 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 703-729 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Michael Ramsden ◽

Isaac Yeung

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

International Criminal Court ◽

Rome Statute ◽

International Criminal ◽

Trial Chamber ◽

Criminal Court ◽

Customary International Law ◽

State Immunity ◽

Head Of State ◽

International Court

The scope and effect of the Head of State immunity doctrine before the International Criminal Court has prompted much discussion following the 2011 decision of the first Pre-Trial Chamber concerning the immunity of serving Sudanese President, Omar Al Bashir. The ptcI held that, as a matter of customary international law, there existed an exception to Head of State immunity where such official is sought by an international court with jurisdiction, here the icc. In an apparent retreat, a differently constituted ptc in 2014 based the inapplicability of such immunity on the terms of Security Council Resolution 1593. Using the 2011 and 2014 ptc decisions as a critical lens, and drawing upon recent material, this article assesses the proper application of Head of State immunity under Article 98(1) of the Rome Statute.

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International Criminal Responsibility Concerning ‘Control over an Organization’ and Command Responsibility Lato Sensu

International Criminal Law Review ◽

10.1163/157181212x634162 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 293-300 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hiromi Satō

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Criminal Law ◽

International Criminal Court ◽

Rome Statute ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Responsibility ◽

Criminal Court ◽

International Criminal Law ◽

Customary International Law

The International Criminal Court recently presented its arguments concerning criminal responsibility arising pursuant to the theory of ‘control over an organization’. This theory is based on the notion of ‘perpetrator-by-means’ found in the Rome Statute, Article 25(3)a. The court appears to have utilized this theory to establish principal responsibility for ordering in contrast to accessorial responsibility prescribed in Article 25(3)b of the said Statute. However, it should be noted that customary international law has long established the notion of command responsibility lato sensu, recognizing the serious and primary nature of superiors’ responsibility for ordering. This article argues that there should be some conscious sequence between the discussions of ‘control over an organization’ and command responsibility lato sensu for the sake of the integrity of the discourse in international criminal law.

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A Brand New Definition for the Crime of Aggression: The Kampala Outcome

Nordic Journal of International Law ◽

10.1163/157181012x638098 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 81 (2) ◽

pp. 227-248 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marina Mancini

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

International Criminal Court ◽

Rome Statute ◽

International Criminal ◽

Case Law ◽

Criminal Court ◽

Customary International Law ◽

The Core ◽

Definition Of

At the first Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which was held in Kampala in 2010, the negotiations on the crime of aggression resulted in a complex package, at the core of which are the definition of the crime and the conditions for the exercise of the Court’s jurisdiction over it. This article examines the definition of the crime of aggression, as enshrined in the new Article 8 bis, considering the various parts of that package as well as the existing practice and case law. On the basis of this analysis, it evaluates the relevance of the Kampala definition to the evolution of customary international law.

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On co-operation by states not party to the International Criminal Court

International Review of the Red Cross ◽

10.1017/s1816383106000063 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 88 (861) ◽

pp. 87-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Zhu Wenqi

Keyword(s):

Criminal Justice ◽

International Law ◽

International Criminal Court ◽

Rome Statute ◽

International Criminal ◽

Criminal Court ◽

International Criminal Justice ◽

Public Attention ◽

Customary International Law ◽

Legal Consequences

Before the International Criminal Court (ICC) came into being, world public attention was focused on issues such as the significance of the Court's establishment, the importance of implementing international criminal justice and the time when the Rome Statute could enter into force. Once the Court was established, attention naturally turned to practical issues, such as whether it would be able to operate normally and perform its historic mission. The question of whether the ICC can operate effectively and perform its mission largely depends on the scope and degree of co-operation provided to it by states. This co-operation concerns not only states party to the ICC but also non-party states. This article offers to explore the obligation of non-party states to co-operate under international law, the prospects of their co-operation and the legal consequences of non-co-operation. The author suggests that beyond the general principle of the law of treaties according to which treaties are binding only on states parties, when viewed in the light of other general principles of international law, co-operation with the ICC is no longer voluntary in nature, but is instead obligatory in the sense of customary international law. Therefore, while a state may not have acceded to the ICC, it may still be subject to an obligation to co-operate with it in certain cases.

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