scholarly journals Recent Developments of International Law Commission Work on Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-78
Author(s):  
Pavel Bureš
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Jurisdiction ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
Theoretical Structure ◽  
Sovereign Equality ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Limitations And Exceptions ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

Immunity is a well bedded concept within international law and mainly within the principle of sovereign equality of states. There are different procedural implications of the concept of immunity – diplomatic and consular privileges and immunities, State jurisdictional immunities and also immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction. The Article focuses on the latter one and portrays on recent developments of immunity of State officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction as it is elaborated by the UN International Law Commission (‘ILC’). The author frames (in the introduction) the concept of immunity and especially the immunity of State officials and puts it in a large theoretical structure of international law and in the work of ILC. Then, he focuses his attention on the phenomenon of progressive development of international law (2) and how it is used with respect to the topic considerated by the ILC. He then presents main ILC conclusions regarding limitations and exceptions to immunity of State officials (3) and finally outlines latest development (4) of the ILC work dealing mainly with relationship between foreign criminal jurisdiction and international criminal jurisdiction and other procedural questions.

Part I Prologue, 1 General Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kittichaisaree Kriangsak
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
General Introduction ◽  
Legal Concept ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
The Third ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

This chapter introduces the legal concept of the international legal obligation to extradite or prosecute perpetrators of the most serious crimes of international concern, tracing its historical foundation, explaining the codification and progressive development work of the UN International Law Commission on the 1996 Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind that has bearings on the concept, and identifying the gap in the existing treaty regime on this obligation. It succinctly analyses the three intertwined alternatives of extradition, prosecution, both by domestic criminal tribunals, and the third alternative of surrendering the perpetrators of such crimes to international criminal tribunals for the purpose of their prosecution.

Completing the ``International Criminal Order''

1998 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Community ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Criminal Jurisdiction ◽  
Draft Statute ◽  
Domestic Jurisdiction ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

AbstractRecent efforts in the United Nations to establish a comprehensive system of international criminal repression by creating a permanent international criminal court are by no means free from doubts regarding the possibility ever to enforce such law. The preamble of the draft statute prepared by the International Law Commission states the basis on which the court is to assert jurisdiction in an ambitious manner: it is the ``International Community'', joining against ``the most serious crimes of international concern''. The project cannot, however, ignore decades of realist criticism against the assumption of the existence of an international community that is ready to accept an international criminal jurisdiction. In the negotiations, this contradiction is dealt with by a technique provided with an ambiguous name: ``complementarity'', i.e. the coordination of the tasks of the international and domestic jurisdiction. The writer discusses the various ideas and proposals presented under the heading of ``complementarity'' in order to examine the tension between communitarian and sovereignty-based strands in the international project to create an effective criminal jurisdiction.

On the Road to Vienna

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Bruns
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
International Law ◽  
The Road ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
History Of ◽  
On The Road ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

This chapter focuses on the negotiations that preceded the 1961 Vienna Conference (which led to the conclusion of the VCDR). The author challenges the view that the successful codification was an obvious step and refers in this regard to a history of intense negotiation which spanned fifteen years. With particular reference to the International Law Commission (ILC), the chapter explores the difficult task faced by ILC members to strike a balance between the codification of existing practice and progressive development of diplomatic law. It reaches the finding that the ILC negotiations were crucial for the success of the Conference, but notes also that certain States supported a less-binding form of codification. The chapter also underlines the fact that many issues that had caused friction between the Cold War parties were settled during the preparatory meetings and remained largely untouched during the 1961 negotiations.

Customary International Law

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Marie Dupuy ◽  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
International Law ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
The World ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

International custom “as evidence of a general practice accepted as law”, is considered one of the two main sources of international law as it primarily derives from the conduct of sovereign States, but is also closely connected with the role of the international judge when identifying the applicable customary rule, a function it shares with the bodies in charge of its codification (and progressive development), starting with the International Law Commission. Though mainly considered to be general international law, international custom has a complex relationship with many specific fields of law and specific regions of the world. The editor provides comprehensive research published in the last seven decades, invaluable to everyone interested in the field of customary international law.

Visits to the ICRC

1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (277) ◽  
pp. 345-346
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
United Nations General Assembly ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

• ICRC President Comelio Sommaruga received the members of the International Law Commission (ILC) at ICRC headquarters on 7 June 1990.The Commission is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly. Its 34 members are elected from among the most eminent representatives of the world's different legal systems. The Commission is entrusted with the task of promoting the codification and development of international law. It is currently working on the codification of offences against the peace and security of mankind (which include war crimes) and the setting up of an international criminal court.

The International Law Commission: Codification and Progressive Development after Forty Years

1988 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 355-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. McRae
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
Droit International ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

SommaireLa Commission du droit international est maintenant à l'œuvre depuis quarante ans. À ses débuts, la Commission a très bien réussi, en effectuant le travail préparatoire aux conventions sur le droit de la mer, sur les relations diplomatiques et consulaires et sur le droit des traités. Depuis lors, les conventions résultant du travail de la Commission on été beaucoup plus controversées et n'ont pas reçu le même appui général. Le changement dans la nature des thèmes à l'étude par la Commission entraîne à l'heure actuelle une réévaluation du rôle et des méthodes de travail de la Commission. L'aspect de développement progressif du travail de la Commission occupe une place plus grande que par le passé et moins d'importance est maintenant accordée aux codifications de type traditionnel. Ceci suppose une redéfinition des objectifs de la Commission et signifie qu'un traité multilatéral n'est ni le seul ni le dénouement habituel du travail de la Commission. Les États doivent reconsidérer leur propre façon d'aborder le travail de la Commission et, en particulier, le rôle que pue la Sixième Commission en révisant chaque année le rapport de la Commission. Enfin, les membres de la Commission eux-mêmes doivent reconnaître que leur rôle dans le processus de création du droit international est devenu beaucoup plus créatif et beaucoup plus dynamique que la seule codification des pratiques ètiques concordantes.

scholarly journals Foreign Official Immunity in the International Law Commission: The Meanings of “Official Capacity”

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 156-160
Author(s):  
William S. Dodge
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Jurisdiction ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

Of all the issues facing the International Law Commission (ILC) in its work on the topic of “Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction,” how to define “act performed in an official capacity” is certainly one of the most difficult and important. If serious international crimes, like torture, are considered acts performed in an official capacity, then foreign officials responsible for such crimes may (unless an exception applies) be immune from criminal jurisdiction in other states for such acts even after they leave office.

The Work of The International Law Commission on “Relations between States and International Organizations” Discontinued: an Assessment

1993 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H.F. Bekker
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Legal Personality ◽  
Progressive Development ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

The UN General Assembly has recently decided to delete from the agenda of the International Law Commission the topic ‘Relations between States and International Organizations’.Over a period of 31 years, fourteen Reports by two successive Special Rapporteurs studied the topic in two parts. The First part of the topic (1963–1975) dealt with the privileges and immunities of representatives of states to international organizations, and resulted in a Convention, that has, however, not yet entered into force; the Second part of the topic (1976–1992) concentrated on the legal status and immunities of organizations themselves.The author analyzes the Draft Articles that have been submitted in the course of the ILC's study of the Second part. This is done by way of a three-step application of the functional necessity concept of organizational immunities:(1) Status, dealing with an organization's functions, legal personality and capacity-(2) Selection, defining a scale of organizational immunities for which an organization may be eligible - and (3) Scope, determining the extent of selected immunities. Finally, the author employs the two statutory functions of the ILC -the codification of international law and the progressive development of international law- to assess the contribution by the ILC to this field of international institutional law.

scholarly journals Immunities and International Crimes before the ILC: Looking for Innovative Solutions

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 22-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathias Forteau
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Criminal Jurisdiction ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Sovereign Equality ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
Over Time

The International Law Commision's (ILC's) work on Immunity of State officials from Criminal Jurisdiction, which started ten years ago, has generated over time high expectations. In light of progress in international criminal law, the ILC is expected to strike a reasonable balance between the protection of sovereign equality and the fight against impunity in case of international crimes. It requires the Commission to determine whether or not immunity from criminal jurisdiction applies or should apply when international crimes are at stake. At its 2017 session, the ILC eventually adopted Draft Article 7 on this issue, which proved quite controversial and did not meet states’ approval. The purpose of this essay is to shed some light on the main shortcomings of this provision and to identify possible alternatives that could permit the ILC to overcome the deadlock concerning its adoption.

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