Eco-Struggles

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Gillett
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
Jus Post Bellum

This chapter examines the provisions of international criminal law applicable to serious environmental harm, particularly during non-international armed conflicts ('NIAC'). After describing incidents of serious environmental harm arising in armed conflicts, the analysis surveys the provisions of international criminal law applicable to environmental harm during NIACs, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and aggression. It then examines the basis for extending to NIACs the protection against military attacks causing excessive environmental harm (set out in Art. 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Rome Statute), which is currently only applicable in IACs. The examination of this possible amendment of the Rome Statute covers a broad range of instruments and laws forming part of international and national legal codes, all addressing grave environmental harm. Finally, the analysis turns to accountability for environmental harm as a facet of jus post bellum, emphasizing the interconnected nature of environmental harm and cycles of violence and atrocities.

scholarly journals The Crisis of International Criminal Law in Africa: A Regional Regime in Response?

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-311
Author(s):  
Eki Yemisi Omorogbe
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Crimes

Abstract This article considers the African Union’s (AU) proposal for a regional court for international crimes under the Malabo Protocol 2014 (Protocol). It places that within the AU’s rejection of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants for African Heads of States that are not party to the Rome Statute and a more general protection of incumbents. It argues that the enthusiasm for establishing a regional criminal court, which lacks jurisdiction to prosecute incumbents, has not been sustained and African states remain committed to the ICC. It shows that nevertheless the Protocol’s provisions on genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, although imperfect, better address the specific character of armed conflicts in Africa than current international law, including the Rome Statute of the ICC. It concludes that the regional court for international crimes is unlikely to be established unless the ICC takes further action against incumbent leaders but that the Protocol’s provisions could be used in the development of a more Africa-centric international law.

scholarly journals La legítima defensa en Derecho Internacional Penal: análisis de sus elementos con particular referencia a los crímenes de guerra

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 230-275
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Servín Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
Third Person

The present investigation analyzes the elements of self-defense in International Criminal Law with particular reference to war crimes. In that regard, article 31.1, subsection C, of the Rome Statute is examined to demonstrate that self-defense in relation with crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression protects the person who exercise it and a third person, but in relation with war crimes, its protection also covers, without precedent, property. Nevertheless, this could be contrary to International Humanitarian Law.

scholarly journals CYBER-ATTACKS AS AGGRESSION CRIMES IN CYBERSPACE IN THE CONTEXT OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianpiero Greco
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Peace ◽  
International Legal Order

The recent situation in the world shows that cyber-attacks could be one of the most dangerous threats to international peace and security. Offensive operations in cyberspace present unique challenges to the international legal order, which are faced by the international community. While it is consensual that international law applies to cyberspace, the debate about the qualification of cyber-attacks as fundamental crimes under International Criminal Law is still ongoing and has not produced definitive answers. Addressing the implications of transnational cyber threats from the perspective of International Criminal Law will perhaps require a further amendment of the Rome Statute. After briefly illustrating how cyber-attacks are commonly linked in the debate to war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, a more detailed analysis will be devoted to the admissibility of cyber-attacks as crimes of aggression, this being the crime most recently defined and, perhaps, the most controversial. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0711/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Part V Procedural and Technological Challenges for the Investigation of TOC—Policing, Technological Aspects, Efficiency, Exchange of Information, Abuse of Power, and Tactics for Conducting Investigations, 22 Policing TOC—The National Perspective: Challenges, Strategies, Tactics

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brady Sheelagh
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
Abuse Of Power ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
National Perspective

At first sight, transnational organised crime (TOC) and international criminal law (ICL) are completely separate: the four ICL core crimes constitute the most heinous crimes, committed by political and military leaders of armed conflicts, whereas TOC as lower-level deviance being committed by private individuals falls short of that. This chapter takes a closer look at this relationship and discovers the lines between these two areas to be blurred: because, as international crimes, they have already been discussed in that context (e.g. while drafting the Rome Statute), and nowadays TOC can even amount to one of the four core crimes de lege lata in individual cases. Apart from that, TOC can also evolve into international crimes de lege ferenda once universal jurisdiction can be established. The chapter concludes that although TOC typically characterizes crime that is different to the four core ICL crimes, both areas approximate greatly in different ways.

Crimes against Humanity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth Van Schaack
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Penal Code ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
Superior Responsibility

This chapter identifies three unfortunate gaps in the United States’ federal penal code: The United States lacks a crimes against humanity statute, the war crimes statute has a limited jurisdictional reach and does not conform to US obligations under the Geneva Conventions, and the code lacks express mention of superior responsibility. These gaps significantly hinder the reach of the United States’ prosecutorial authorities and have led to instances of impunity, and incomplete accountability, where perpetrators within US jurisdiction cannot be prosecuted for their substantive crimes and must be dealt with through immigration and other remedies. The chapter then evaluates various proposed amendments to Title 18, drawing upon previous bills, international criminal law, and other federal statutes. It closes by arguing that discrete statutory amendments would enable the United States to exercise leadership in atrocities prevention and response without increasing the risk that US personnel will be subjected to litigation overseas.

Part 1 Introduction, 1 Criminal Responsibility in International Law

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
van Sliedregt Elies
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Laws Of War ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Modern Warfare

The reality of warfare has changed considerably over time. While most, if not all, armed conflicts were once fought between states, many are now fought within states. Particularly since the end of the Cold War the world has witnessed an outbreak of non-international armed conflicts, often of an ethnic nature. Since the laws of war are for the most part still premised on the concept of classic international armed conflict, it proved difficult to fit this law into ‘modern’ war crimes trials dealing with crimes committed during non-international armed conflicts. The criminal law process has therefore ‘updated’ the laws of war. The international criminal judge has brought the realities of modern warfare into line with the purpose of the laws of war (the prevention of unnecessary suffering and the enforcement of ‘fair play’). It is in war crimes law that international humanitarian law has been further developed. This chapter discusses the shift from war crimes law to international criminal law, the concept of state responsibility for individual liability for international crimes, and the nature and sources of international criminal law.

Removing or Reincarnating the Policy Requirement of Crimes against Humanity: Introductory Note

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 825-826
Author(s):  
LARISSA VAN DEN HERIK ◽  
ELIES VAN SLIEDREGT
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Introductory Note ◽  
Contextual Elements ◽  
Over Time

Of the three existing core crimes in international criminal law, crimes against humanity is the most elusive one, a chameleonic crime that can change colour over time, since it does not possess an unambiguous conceptual character. The characterizing element of genocide obviously is the specific intent to destroy. War crimes must have a nexus with an armed conflict. The identifying element of crimes against humanity is more difficult to pin down as the contextual elements have changed over time.

Fitness to Stand Trial under International Criminal Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Freckelton ◽  
Magda Karagiannakis
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
International Courts ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Fitness To Stand Trial ◽  
Physical Disorders

This chapter analyses the international criminal law jurisprudence on fitness to stand trial. It examines the mental and physical disorders that have been asserted in international criminal proceedings for defendants accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It exposes the processes by which fitness is determined and distils the legal standards that international courts have utilised and the consequences of unfitness by international courts. The chapter canvasses the introduction of more nuanced and psychiatrically informed criteria for fitness determinations. It also proposes the introduction of adequately resourced secure facilities for the confinement of persons found unfit to stand trial in order to reduce the incentives for the assertion of questionable unfitness claims, and encourages consideration of the introduction of special hearings for those found unfit in order to advance the overall aims of international criminal justice.

(Re)Considering Gender Jurisprudence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Viseur Sellers
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Panoramic View ◽  
Panoramic Views

The chapter reviews gender jurisprudence in international humanitarian law and international criminal law, and urges a reconsideration of this jurisprudence. It examines aspects of the crime of genocide to illustrate the “narrow” strand of gender jurisprudence focused on sexual violence, as well as a more “panoramic” view that has emerged in recent years. The chapter concludes by moving beyond the binary of the narrow and panoramic views of gender jurisprudence. It argues that gender jurisprudence acts as an independent measure of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Such a comprehensive reading of gender jurisprudence provides an analytical tool for practitioners to reconceptualize redress under international criminal law.

Individual Criminal Responsibility for the Financing of Entities Involved in Core Crimes: Aiding and Abetting

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ausserladscheider Jonas ◽  
Dire Tladi
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
International Courts ◽  
Individual Criminal Responsibility

War crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression could not be perpetrated without those who finance them. This article examines the basis for criminal liability in international criminal law (ICL) for persons who finance entities that perpetrate core crimes. Despite the need for clear rules, neither international courts nor scholars agree upon (i) whether liability exists for individuals who finance entities that perpetrate core crimes; and (ii) if so, the circumstances under which such liability exists. This article argues that an individual who finances an entity that perpetrates a core crime should be held criminally liable under customary international criminal law as an aider and abettor. The objective of this article is to clarify the rules that would enable international courts and tribunals to identify the extent to which individual criminal liability attaches to the financing of core crimes, as well as the legal basis for such liability. By clarifying the criminal accountability of individuals who finance entities that perpetrate core crimes, this article also seeks to clarify the mental elements of the mode of liability of aiding and abetting.

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