Giving Priority to Sex Crime Prosecutions: The Philosophical Foundations of a Feminist Agenda

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret deGuzman
Keyword(s):  
Restorative Justice ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Sex Crimes ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Philosophical Foundations ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Sex Crime

AbstractIn light of serious resource constraints, international criminal courts are required to select a small number of crimes for prosecution, leaving others to national courts or, more often, impunity. In recent years, feminists have advocated that such courts give priority to prosecuting sex crimes even at the expense of other serious crimes, including those involving killing. Many international prosecutors have heeded this call, placing special emphasis on the prosecution of sex crimes. At the same time, empirical evidence shows that many people consider sex crimes less serious than crimes resulting in death. There is thus a need to ground the selection of sex crimes for prosecution in the purposes of international criminal law. This essay examines the four primary philosophical bases advanced for international prosecutions – retribution, deterrence, expressivism, and restorative justice – to determine how they inform decisions whether to give priority to sex crime prosecutions. It concludes that retribution and deterrence support such selections at least some of the time, and expressivism and restorative justice provide an even stronger foundation for giving priority to sex crimes.

14. International Criminal Law

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Dixon ◽  
Robert McCorquodale ◽  
Sarah Williams
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Political Will ◽  
National Courts ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals

This chapter addresses the prosecution of crimes in international criminal courts according to international—not national—criminal law. International law has long recognised that certain conduct, for example piracy and slavery, are crimes against international law which may be tried by international bodies or by any State. This principle has been expanded to cover more substantive crimes. International mechanisms for criminal accountability may be established where national courts have failed or are unable to try offenders due to a lack of political will, insufficient resources, deficiencies in national law, and/or ongoing conflict. The establishment and jurisdiction of the existing international criminal tribunals, including the International Criminal Court, are considered.

30. International criminal justice

2019 ◽  
pp. 645-664
Author(s):  
James Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal Justice ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
National Courts

This chapter discusses the development of international criminal law and institutions, international criminal courts and tribunals, and international criminal justice in national courts. These developments respond to but also reflect repeated failures to prevent serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The work of the International Criminal Court, specialized criminal tribunals and ‘hybrid’ tribunals is outlined.

Remarks by Charles C. Jalloh

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 210-215
Author(s):  
Charles C. Jalloh
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Preliminary Remark ◽  
Starting Point

As a preliminary remark, our starting point must be to recognize that, up until now, international criminal law has relied on what M.C. Bassiouni called “direct enforcement” by international criminal courts and “indirect enforcement” by national courts. The middle ground between the two extremes has been the use of “hybrid” courts such as the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). The SCSL married the domestic with the international, in an effort to combine the best of the international and national in order to advance accountability for serious international crimes.

Procedural Justice in International Criminal Courts: Assessing Civil Parties’ Perceptions of Justice at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Killean
Keyword(s):  
Procedural Justice ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Unique Case ◽  
Mass Violence ◽  
Participant Satisfaction ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Procedural justice advocates argue that fair procedures in decision making processes can increase participant satisfaction with legal institutions. Little critical work has been done however to explore the power of such claims in the context of mass violence and international criminal justice. This article critically examines some of the key claims of procedural justice by exploring the perceptions of justice held by victims participating as Civil Parties in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (eccc). The eccc has created one of the most inclusive and extensive victim participation regimes within international criminal law. It therefore provides a unique case study to examine some of claims of ‘victim-centred’ transitional justice through a procedural justice lens. It finds that while procedural justice influenced civil parties’ overall perceptions of the Court, outcomes remained of primary importance. It concludes by analysing the possible reasons for this prioritisation.

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.

Accountability for Sexual and Gender-based Violence During Mass Repression and in Conflict

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-324
Author(s):  
Daniela Kravetz
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Domestic Level

Abstract This article examines how national courts in Argentina and Guatemala are applying the international criminal law framework to address sexual violence perpetrated during mass repression and in conflict. It focuses on the emerging domestic jurisprudence in both countries and explores the challenges to prosecuting sexual and gender-based violence at the domestic level and the lessons learned from these experiences.

International Criminal Law

2019 ◽  
pp. 466-490
Author(s):  
Hirad Abtahi ◽  
Philippe Kirsch
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Genocide Convention ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Common System ◽  
Substantive Law ◽  
Judicial Assistance

By virtue of its longevity, territorial scope, mandate, and resources, the UN has been pivotal in the development of international criminal justice. While its contribution has been mostly institutional, in terms of genesis, establishment, and functioning of international and hybrid criminal courts, the UN has also shaped their procedural and substantive law. Starting with the first to be established—the ad hoc tribunals—the UN Security Council, acting under Chapter VII, adopted the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) statutes and fully managed them. To a lesser extent, the same could be said of Timor Leste’s Special Panel for Serious Crimes. Regarding the creation of hybrid criminal courts, that is, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), and Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), the UN served as a bilateral treaty-making forum for the negotiation and conclusion of UN-member states’ agreements. Through the ICTY completion strategy and rule 11bis, the UN also internationalized domestic courts (War Crimes Chambers) to enhance national judicial capacity building to prosecute international crimes. Finally, the UN served as the ultimate multilateral treaty-making body in the ICC’s half-century-long creation; starting with the Genocide Convention, and continuing with the ILC and subsequent negotiations leading to the adoption of the ICC Statute, which created a complex institutional and jurisdictional relationship with the UN. Institutionally, this has included cooperation and judicial assistance, dispute settlement functions, UN treaty functions, and adherence to the UN common system. Jurisdictionally, this has involved Chapter VII referrals and deferrals and jurisdiction over a range of crimes close to other UN created tribunals.

scholarly journals Practice theory and change in international law: theorizing the development of legal meaning through the interpretive practices of international criminal courts

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora Stappert
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
International Courts ◽  
Interpretive Practices ◽  
Legal Meaning

AbstractThe question of change has emerged as one of the main conceptual and empirical challenges for International Relations' practice turn. In the context of international law, such a challenge is brought into particularly stark relief due to the significant development of legal meaning through more informal, interpretive avenues, including through the judgments of international courts. This paper develops a framework for theorizing how interpretive legal practices generate normative content change in international law. Specifically, it uses the example of the development of international criminal law through the decisions of international criminal courts to analyze how legal interpretation can lead to normative change in practice. Drawing on interviews conducted with judges and legal officers at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), I analyze how a community of legal practice centered around these courts was able to construct and alter legal meaning in international criminal law, and how such a potential for change was curbed by understandings of the interpretive process and the role of international courts dominant among international lawyers.

Judging International Criminal Justice in the Occupied Territories

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 827-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farhad Malekian
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Gaza Strip ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Positive Law ◽  
Occupied Territories ◽  
The Gaza Strip

Analysing the philosophy of criminal justice and international criminal jurisdiction is indeed very complex. At a minimum, one has to be familiar with both common law and civil law systems. Examining the Gaza Strip situation is also simultaneously a very sophisticated task. It needs, to some extent, an understanding, not only of natural and positive law, but also of many principles and cultural heritages of, at least, two ethnic groups, the Palestinians, and the Jews. It is not certainly a question of religious theories, but the potentiality of rightful co-existence. It also requires understanding why these very two old groups have been, since the creation of Israel, constantly suffering from serious armed conflicts. The Gaza crimes are some of the most recent recognized crimes committed against the population of occupied territories. The intention of this article is to re-examine the historical creation of the State of Israel, the influence of the politicians of the United Kingdom in its creation, the murder of European Jews and the killing of physical and psychological integrity of Palestinians under the authority of Israeli governments. The article deals with some of the most significant norms of international criminal law and human rights law that ought to be respected in national or international conflicts regardless of the target of attack. It deals with the concept of criminal responsibility of individuals under the law of international criminal courts.

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