Law, Politics, the Age of Responsibility, and the Problem of Child Soldiers

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Stauffer
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Protracted Conflict ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Legal Response ◽  
Interdisciplinary Study ◽  
Political Realities

This article considers debates about criminal responsibility for child soldiers as a lens through which we can view intersections between legal and political theory, legal and political practice, and interdisciplinary study of law. The case of Dominic Ongwen, victim and perpetrator of the same crimes, currently before the International Criminal Court, elucidates some challenges to the contemporary model of legal response to complex protracted conflict. The argument discusses how legal standards, political realities, theories of responsibility, and widespread assumptions about time and aging interact in this field of judgment, and aims to point the reader toward broader possibilities for retribution and recovery.

Equal Standards? On the Dialectics between National Jurisdictions and the International Criminal Court

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 229-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harmen van der Wilt
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Standards ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Principle Of Complementarity

AbstractThe Rome Statute contains a body of legal standards on elements of the offences, concepts of criminal responsibility and defences of unprecedented detail. Whereas these standards serve the International Criminal Court as normative framework, the principle of complementarity implies that domestic jurisdictions are to take the lead in the adjudication of international crimes.This article addresses the question whether domestic legislators and courts are bound to meticulously apply the international standards, or whether they are left some leeway to apply their own (criminal) law. The article starts with a survey of the actual performance of national jurisdictions. Current international law does not explicitly compel states to copy the international standards; at most one might argue that the codification of international criminal law and the principle of complementarity encourage harmonization.Capitalizing on the concept of 'open texture of law' and the methodology of casuistry, the present author argues that a certain measure of diversity in the interpretation and application of international standards is inevitable and even desirable. However, as a general rule, states have less freedom of interpretation in respect of the elements of crimes than in the application of concepts of responsibility and defences.

Can Duress Exclude Criminal Responsibility of Former Child Soldiers? The Case of Dominic Ongwen Before the International Criminal Court

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 78-100
Author(s):  
Patryk Gacka
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Negative Answer ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
The Social ◽  
Former Child Soldiers

The phenomenon of child soldiers encompasses up to half a million of adolescents around the world and is – without a doubt – one of the most pressing humanitarian problems of contemporary armed conflicts. This article aims at addressing this issue by examining an ongoing trial of Dominic Ongwen before the International Criminal Court. The first part is dedicated to the description of Dominic Ongwen’s life through the prism of the ‘victim’ and ‘perpetrator’ labels. In this respect I try to prove that in many situations these two labels do not fit the social reality which they are supposed to classify or categorize. In the second part, I refer to the taxonomy of defences, justifications, excuses and grounds for excluding criminal responsibility in domestic and international criminal law. I also analyse concepts of duress and necessity as they are codified in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. On these basis, I give a negative answer to the question if Dominic Ongwen will be able to effectively invoke one of these defences in order to limit or exclude his criminal responsibility, while in conclusions I also provide a short assessment of ‘the law as it is’.

scholarly journals FOMER CHILD SOLDIERS: PRODUCT OF ARMED CONFLICTS AND HOW THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT FAILS TO SEE ITS SIGNIFICANCE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-201
Author(s):  
Dino Panji Pananjung ◽  
Sigar Aji Poerana
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Former Child Soldiers ◽  
Keywords Child

AbstractIn armed conflicts, children are often kidnapped and forced to become child soldiers, they are also given forced indoctrination (by violence and threats) and are taught to commit crimes, such as looting and murder. Disobeyed children and those who try to escape will be punished in the form of torture or even being executed in front of other children's soldiers as a lesson so others will not follow their step. When they did not serve the armed forces anymore or they grew up and no longer held child status, they were given the title of "former child soldiers". These former child soldiers might still live in rebellious environments and commit serious crimes including international crimes under jurisdiction of International Criminal Court when they grow up. This research argues whether the International Criminal Court considers the historical status of the perpetrators who are former child soldiers as mitigating factor of their punishment. The research method used is the juridical normative approach. The result of this research shows the International Criminal Court has never considered the history of international criminals as child soldiers. However, the International Criminal Court may use the consideration beside what has been regulated in Rome Statute, such as Article 21(3). This is also based on the Judge's right for discretion in the Rome Statute to adjudicate, as what we can see in the Case of Omar Khadr. Keywords: Child Soldier, Criminal responsibility, International Criminal Court, Judgment and Sentencing, Rome Statute. AbstrakDalam konflik bersenjata, anak seringkali diculik dan dipaksa menjadi tantara anak, mereka juga didoktrin paksa (melalui kekerasan atau ancaman) serta diajakan untuk melakukan kejahatan seperti menjarah dan membunuh. Mereka yang tidak menurut dan yang mencoba melarikan diri akan dihukum dengan disiksa di hadapan para tantara anak lainnya sebagai contoh agar tidak ditiru oleh anak lainnya. Mereka disebut “mantan tantara anak” setelah tidak lagi menjadi teantara atau telah dewasa. Tidak menutup kemungkinan ketika dewasa mereka hidup dengan jiwa pemberontak dan melakukan kejahatan serius bahkan kejahatan internasional yang menjadi jurisdiksi Mahkamah Pidana Internasional. Penelitian ini membahas apakah Mahkamah Pidana Internasional mempertimbangkan riwayat seorang pelaku kejahatan internasional yang menjadi seorang mantan tentara anak untuk meringankan hukuman mereka. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah yuridis normatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa praktik Mahkamah Pidana Internasional tidak pernah mempertimbangkan latar belakang pelaku kejahatan internasional sebagai mantan tentara anak. Namun, Hakim Mahkamah Pidana Internasional dapat menggunakan ketentuan diluar Statuta Roma berdasarkan pasal 21(3). Hal ini juga didasari pada adanya diskresi Hakim untuk memutus dan mengadili diluar yang diatur di dalam Statuta Roma, seperti halnya Kasus Omar Khadr. Kata Kunci: Mahkamah Pidana Internasional, Pemidanaan, Pertanggungjawaban Pidana, Statuta Roma, Tentara Anak.

Individual Criminal Responsibility in International Human Rights Law: The Contribution of the International Criminal Court

1970 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Mohammed
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
The Road ◽  
Individual Criminal Responsibility

The road to developing an international institutional capacity to prosecute crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide has been a long one, and has in many ways concluded with the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). By looking at the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as well as the ICC, this paper traces the evolution of the concept of individual criminal responsibility to its present incarnation. It argues that while the ICC presents its own unique ‘added value’ to the prosecution of international criminals, its application of justice continues to be biased by the influence of powerful states.

Individual Criminal Responsibility before the International Criminal Court

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Goy
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Individual Criminal Responsibility

For more than 15 years the two ad hoc Tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), have interpreted the requirements of different forms of individual criminal responsibility. It is thus helpful to look at whether and to what extent the jurisprudence of the ICTY/ICTR may provide guidance to the International Criminal Court (ICC). To this end, this article compares the requirements of individual criminal responsibility at the ICTY/ICTR and the ICC. The article concludes that, applied with caution, the jurisprudence of the ICTY/ICTR – as an expression of international law – can assist in interpreting the modes of liability under the ICC Statute. ICTY/ICTR case law seems to be most helpful with regard to accessorial forms of liability, in particular their objective elements. Moreover, it may assist in interpreting the subjective requirements set out in Article 30 ICC Statute.

The International Criminal Court’s Authority Crisis and Kant’s Political Ethics

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-215
Author(s):  
Antonio Franceschet
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
The State ◽  
Moral Problem ◽  
Legal Authority ◽  
Political Ethics ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Legal Actor

The International Criminal Court (icc) faces a profound authority crisis. This article explores the underlying conditions and ethical implications of this crisis in light of Immanuel Kant’s (1724–1804) political theory. The icc’s authority crisis is twofold: First, having been constructed as a purely legal actor, the Court’s inevitable role in politics has undermined perceptions of its legitimacy. Second, having been constructed as a supranational substitute for domestic legal authority, the icc has been subverted by other, political branches of the state, such as the executive. These problems have been particularly salient in Africa where states have vociferously challenged the Court’s investigations and prosecutions. Kantian political ethics show that the icc’s authority crisis is an intractable moral problem that must be addressed collectively and coercively by sovereign states acting upon a larger, cosmopolitan duty to enforce universal rights.

Better Late than Never: Reparations for Sexual Violence in the Ntaganda case before the International Criminal Court

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-47
Author(s):  
Sunneva Gilmore
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Trial Chamber ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Medical Background ◽  
Modest Contribution ◽  
First Time

The Prosecutor v Bosco Ntaganda case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) represents the long awaited first reparation order for sexual violence at the court. This will hopefully see the implementation of reparations for the war crimes and crimes against humanity of rape and sexual slavery among civilians and former child soldiers, after previous cases such as against Jean-Pierre Bembe and Laurent Gbagbo were acquitted of rape. This article drawing from the author's role as a reparation expert in the case, is a reflection on the challenges of designing and providing reparations at the ICC against convicted individuals, as well as amidst insecurity and the COVID-19 infectious disease pandemic. It begins by discussing how the Ntaganda reparation order expanded reparation principles for the first time since the Lubanga case, in particular for crimes of a sexual nature. This is followed by an outline of some of the harms as a result of sexual violence from the perspective of an expert with a medical background. The analysis then turns to the appropriate reparations in this case and the details contained within the chamber's reparation order. Final conclusions consider how the procedural and substantive elements of reparations in this case will be instructive to future cases that address sexual violence. Ultimately, key insights are offered on the modest contribution an appointed reparation expert can do in assisting a trial chamber in the reparation process.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document