scholarly journals Odpowiedzialność osób zarządzających w transnarodowych korporacjach w prawie karnym – aspekty międzynarodowe i transnarodowe

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 75-96
Author(s):  
Kamil Boczek
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Transnational Corporations ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Corporate Managers ◽  
Business Opportunity ◽  
The World ◽  
International Laws ◽  
Forced Labour

Owing to increasing globalisation, transnational corporations play an important role in international trade. Those wealthy and very complex entities have a major impact on reality and often engage in activities which involve illegal practices such as the environmental pollution, forced labour and other serious infringement of employees’ right or even crimes against humanity. Carrying on business which is primarily profit-oriented may result in violations of fundamental human rights, if this is required for a corporation to financially exploit a business opportunity. It is difficult in practice to hold these entities and their corporate directors to account. Regulations regarding criminal responsibility of managers of transnational corporations can be found in national and international laws. However, criminal proceedings do not give satisfactory results. The main problem lies in powers, flexibility and close links of those corporations with local authorities. The paper points to different solutions applied throughout the world, and describes the best-known criminal proceedings against corporate managers.

scholarly journals Forced Labour in Brazil: International Criminal Law as the Ultima Ratio Modality of Human Rights Protection

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-193
Author(s):  
JAMES L. BISCHOFF
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Criminal Sanctions ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Brazilian Government ◽  
Forced Labour ◽  
The Individual

Notwithstanding estimates that 12.3 million persons today are subjected to conditions analogous to slavery, public international lawyers have almost completely ignored slavery and related institutions in recent decades. This article explores the phenomenon of forced labour in the Amazon, where anywhere between 25,000 and 100,000 people are compelled through trickery and coercion to work in subhuman conditions. After outlining the legal regime governing slavery-related practices, the author examines why the Brazilian government has failed in its efforts to secure compliance within its own borders of its obligations under anti-slavery and human rights conventions. The author then argues that holding the Brazilian state responsible and assessing monetary damages is not in fact the most effective and fair way to secure the human rights of the victims of forced labour, and that international criminal sanctions for the individual perpetrators – including prosecution in the ICC for crimes against humanity – is a viable and preferable alternative.

scholarly journals ON THE COMPLEXITIES OF PROSECUTING ROBERT MUGABE AT THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Everisto Benyera
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
The World ◽  
The Hague ◽  
Robert Mugabe ◽  
Do So

One of the most desired actions by human rights activists the world over is to see Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe brought to The Hague to answer to allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during his more than three decades in office. This desire notwithstanding, there are both legal and practical imperatives that render his prosecution highly improbable judging by the failed attempts to do so by various organisations. This article is a contribution to the debate on the fate of heads of states accused of genocide and crimes against humanity by focusing on the complexities surrounding the various attempts at having Mugabe brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC). The conclusion reached is that, no matter how desirable, the prosecution of Mugabe at the ICC, or any other court of law, is a distant reality due to various reasons outlined in the article. 

THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF APPLYING THE PRINCIPLE OF NON BIS IN IDEM IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS RIGHT UKRAINE

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petro Olishchuk ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Criminal Code ◽  
Legal Responsibility ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Judicial Decisions ◽  
European Court

The article analyzes the principle of non bis in idem in the context of the criminal legislation of Ukraine, as well as the identification of cases of violations of this principle by law enforcement bodies during the qualification of criminal offences and during the issue of judicial decisions. It is noted that criminal law is a branch of law that is connected with the establishment of a ban on committing a certain act under the threat of the application by the state of measures of coercion of a criminal nature. The establishment of such a ban and the determination of measures of criminal-legal coercion, as a consequence, for its violation, is potentially related to the restriction of human rights. Obviously, the restriction of these rights cannot be arbitrary and chaotic, but must be subject to certain rules, ideas, which reflect the general development of society. These include the principles of criminal law, in particular the principle of criminal law, enshrined in art. Article 61 of the Constitution of Ukraine states: “No one can be brought to legal responsibility twice for the same type of offence”. According to Article 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, “no one may be brought to criminal responsibility for the same criminal offence more than once”. The article highlights the characteristic features of the investigated principle. It is stated that its role is extremely important for the internal construction of the field of law, as well as the correct normalisation and law enforcement. There are cases of violations of this principle by law enforcement bodies during the qualification of criminal offences and during the issue of judicial decisions, on examples of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights and Ukrainian judicial proceedings. The European Court of Human Rights’s case-law on the application of Article 4 of the Convention is inconsistent and, in some cases, even contradictory. The principle of non bis in idem in the resolution of the question of the inadmissibility of double incrimination ensures the observance of the rights of the person during the implementation of criminal prosecution, as well as ensures the completeness of criminal legal qualification, the individualization of criminal responsibility and punishment.

Choices More Ethical Than Legal: The International Committee of the Red Cross and Human Rights

1993 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 131-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Forsythe
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Committee ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Ethical Choice ◽  
The World ◽  
International Laws

It may come as a surprise to many that the ICRC was the first agency established representing the International Red Cross and Red Crescent network to protect and assist victims of war and victims of politics. This article explores the ineffective consequences of international laws overseeing such victims and argues that proper implementation of these laws requires policy, without which laws can never be executed. ICRC has often coordinated relief for victims in such places as Somalia and Bosnia, in fact more than all the UN agencies combined, when the rest of the world was still ignoring them. When law is silent, and often during war time it is, human rights policies must be built on ethical choice.

scholarly journals Establishment of the International Criminal Court and the Role of USA: A Legal Appraisal

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 51-69
Author(s):  
Saud Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
National Courts ◽  
The World

In order to end global impunity of perpetration of heinous crimes against humanity and gross violation of human rights and to bring individual perpetrators to justice, international community felt the need for a permanent international criminal court.2 As the armed conflicts and serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law continue to victimize millions of people throughout the world, the reasons for an international criminal court became compelling.3 In many conflicts around the world, armies or rebel groups attack ordinary people and commit terrible human rights abuses against them. Often, these crimes are not punished by the national courts. Here the ICC is complementary to national criminal jurisdictions.4 The court only acts in cases where states are unwilling or unable to do so.5 The jurisdiction of the Court is not retrospective and binds only those States that ratify it.6 Unlike the International Court of Justice in The Hague, whose jurisdiction is restricted to states, the ICC has individualized criminal responsibility. However, the role of USA regarding the establishment and continuation of ICC has caused the organization fall in a trouble. The better cooperation of USA and other states could make the organization more active and effective as to its activities. The view of this paper is to analyze the role of USA towards the establishment, continuation and function of the International Criminal Court. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/nujl.v1i0.18525 Northern University Journal of Law Vol.1 2010: 51-69

scholarly journals Zbrodnia katyńska przed Europejskim Trybunałem Praw Człowieka — refleksje nad wyrokiem z 21 października 2013 roku

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 349-373
Author(s):  
Witold Kulesza
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Code ◽  
Prisoners Of War ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Russian Government ◽  
European Court ◽  
Communist Ideology ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Grand Chamber

The Katyń massacre before the European Court of Human Rights — reflections on the October 21, 2013 judgmentBoth the Nuremberg Tribunal in its judgment of Jan. 1, 1946 as well as the European Court of Human Rights’ Grand Chamber judgment of Oct. 21, 2013 in the case of Janowiec and Others v. Russia abstracted from a substantive decision on Russia’s responsibility for the Katyń massacre and failed to determine the consequences to be borne by the defending state, whose authorities decided upon the performance of the act in question. Contemporary Russian state denies that the murder of 22,000 Polish prisoners of war and inmates at the behest of the highest authorities of the USSR in 1940 was indeed a war crime. According to the position of the Russian government, represented before the ECHR, what took place was solely a crime committed by the administrative personnel who acted beyond their authority, the prosecution of which expired after 10 years, i.e. in 1950. The Russian side also claimed that it was not obliged to conduct an investigation on the matter and refused to disclose the content of the order to discontinue the criminal proceedings issued in 2004 to both the relatives of those who were murdered and to the ECHR. It also refused to recognize the murdered Polish prisoners of war as victims of political repression, claiming that it is unclear according to which criminal code they were sentenced to be shot. Russia’s position in denying the temporal jurisdiction of the ECHR and the ratione materiae with regard to the Katyń massacre which was in fact accepted by the ECHR in its judgment, should be subject to criticism. According to the statement of the court, Russia has not violated Article 2 of the Convention in its procedural aspect or Article 3 in its way of dealing with the relatives of the victims. The Court has lost the chance to contribute to appointing — in terms of human rights — a protection standard for a vital legal interest, which is currently the collective memory of the persecution of people because of their national, racial or religious background, ones who had become victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed in the name of Nazi or communist ideology once pursued in Europe.

12. Human rights, international criminal and humanitarian law

2019 ◽  
pp. 160-174
Author(s):  
Ilias Bantekas ◽  
Efthymios Papastavridis
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Margin Of Appreciation ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Key Aspects

This chapter examines the nature and diversity of human rights, rather than any particular right. It looks at issues such as the universality, interdependence, and indivisibility of rights. It points to the issue of justiciability and emphasizes the obligation of States in both its negative as well as its positive dimension. The chapter examines the role of derogations and reservations to human rights treaties as well as cardinal principles in such treaties, namely the margin of appreciation and the scope of application. The chapter examines the concept of international criminal responsibility and looks at the four core international crimes, namely grave breaches (war crimes), crimes against humanity, genocide, and the crime of aggression. Finally, the chapter examines in some detail the key aspects and distinctions in international humanitarian law, such as the distinction and legal consequences between combatants and civilians and others.

Can Criminal Prosecution be the Answer to massive Human Rights Violations?

2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 1469-1488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph J.M. Safferling
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Short Time

Almost 60 years after the surviving Nazi-leaders were tried in the first ever international criminal tribunal for mass atrocities during World War II in Nuremberg, criminal responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes is perceived of as somewhat normal. Even if it is not yet an everyday event that human rights abusers are tried on an international level, the reality of the possibility of such a trial is present in the minds of the attentive public. This change was achieved over the last ten years. The establishing of the Yugoslavia-tribunal in 1993 was the turning point. Since then a number of both national and international trials held against human rights criminals has given the topic high priority. Finally the International Criminal Court (ICC) was founded and after a comparatively short time actually established and put in a position to operate. Sierra Leone relies on criminal prosecution in order to rebuild its society after a distracted and bloody civil war and a trial against Saddam Hussein seems a necessity. Many expectations are connected to criminal law and the working of the ICC. The dream of a world-wide justice, i.e. to attribute “just desert” to the offenders and to do justice to the victims, seems to have become reality. At the same time the establishing of an international criminal court is understood as a signal that will deter future offenders from committing human rights atrocities. The paper of Alexandra Kemmerer gives proof of how optimistically the EU promotes the idea of international criminal justice.

scholarly journals Transnational Corporations, Natural Resources and Conflict

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Solomon E. Salako
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Transnational Corporations ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
International Court

Transnational Corporations (TNCs) exploit natural resources, whether renewable as in the case of forests, fisheries and agricultural products or non-renewable as in the case of minerals or petroleum, in developing countries through their subsidiaries. TNCs’ exploitation of forests and acquisition of intellectual property rights in plants and animal breeding, based on the traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples developed over millennia, are in conflict with the rights of indigenous peoples to their territories, resources and traditional knowledge. TNCs also profit from conflict by trading natural resources that prolong wars; colluding with repressive governments to pervert political processes within a State; aiding and abetting crimes against humanity; and flagrantly violating human rights. This article explores the areas of conflict outlined above and examines the efficacy of the mechanisms for the control of TNCs whether legally binding or not. It is suggested that the only effective way of making TNCs accountable for their human rights violations and aiding and abetting crimes against humanity is the establishment of an international court with jurisdiction over corporations.

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