The Principle of Complementarity: A Reflection on Its Meaning, Origin and Types in International Criminal Law

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-94
Author(s):  
Muyiwa Adigun
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
First World ◽  
Principle Of Complementarity

The principle of complementarity is one of the most important concepts in international criminal law as it defines the relationship between international criminal tribunals and domestic courts. Certain claims have been made in respect of this concept thus this study examines the correctness of the claims made. The study finds that the concept is claimed to have originated from the sciences and that its expression in international criminal law has taken a distinctive form different from that in the sciences, that it is traceable to the First World War and that there are at least about four categories of the concept. The study, however, argues that while the concept originated from the sciences, its expression in international criminal law is no different from that in the sciences, that it is traceable to the trial of Peter von Hagenbach in 1474 (the Breisach Trial) and that there are at least five categories of the concept. The study therefore concludes that the claims made are incorrect.

The (Failed) Attempt to Try the Kaiser and the Long (Forgotten) History of International Criminal Law: Thoughts Following The Trial of the Kaiser by William A Schabas

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-186
Author(s):  
Ziv Bohrer
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
First World War ◽  
Second World War ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
History Of ◽  
Second World ◽  
First World

The conventional historic account maintains that international criminal law (ICL) was ‘born’ after the Second World War. This account is incomplete, as William Schabas's book, The Trial of the Kaiser (2018), captivatingly shows by richly portraying the (aborted) First World War initiative to try the German Kaiser before an international tribunal. However, this article (after providing an overview of Schabas's book) argues that Schabas's account of a First World War ICL ‘birth’ is also incomplete. ICL during the First World War era was but one link in a much longer historical chain. The essay demonstrates this fact by presenting certain elements of the long (forgotten) history of ICL, which provide answers to questions that have been left unanswered, not only by the conventional account (of a Second World War ICL ‘birth’) but also by Schabas's account (of a First World War ICL ‘birth’). As the article discusses, the unveiling of a greater ICL history indicates that international criminal tribunals are not a modern innovation, and reveals the origins of ‘crimes against humanity’, of ‘aggression’ and of the universal jurisdiction doctrine. The essay further discusses reasons for the non-remembrance of the long history of ICL, the importance of acknowledging that history, and the likelihood of it becoming widely acknowledged in the near future.

The ‘Africa Blue Books’ at Versailles

2019 ◽  
pp. 145-166
Author(s):  
Christopher Gevers
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
First World War ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
World War ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
The First World War ◽  
First World

This chapter tells the story of the silencing of crimes committed against Africans from international criminal law’s founding moment at Versailles in 1919. While British ‘Atrocity Blue Books’ were central to the call for criminal prosecutions of Germans after the war, the two Blue Books concerning crimes committed against Africans were inexplicably excluded from the report of the Commission on the Responsibility for the Authors of the War. This chapter explores the conditions of their erasure—both at Versailles and in the subsequent histories of the First World War and international criminal law—and considers what might happen if they were included within the fields’ dominant historical narrative. In both respects C.S. Forrester’s 1935 novel The African Queen and its myriad afterlives, in fiction, non-fiction, and film, prove a productive analogue as these texts intersect in interesting ways, both in content and form.

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.

scholarly journals State Practice as Element of Customary International Law: A White Knight in International Criminal Law?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 784-804
Author(s):  
Harmen van der Wilt
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Case Law ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
State Practice

Inter-state practice is relatively scarce in the area of human rights and international criminal law. This article ventures to inquire how this has affected the process of identification of customary international law by international criminal tribunals and courts. The main conclusion is that the two components of customary international law – opinio juris and state practice – have become blurred. In search of customary international law, international tribunals have resorted to national legislation and case law of domestic courts. These legal artefacts can be qualified as both evidence of state practice and opinio juris. The author attempts to explain the reasons for this development and holds that, if properly applied, the methodology, while seemingly messy, comports with the nature of international criminal law.

Domestic Courts' Contribution to the Development of International Criminal Law: Some Reflections

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harmen van der Wilt
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Case Law ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Strict Compliance ◽  
Hierarchical Nature ◽  
Different Levels

This article seeks to give an impression of the way in which domestic courts are contributing to the development of international criminal law. Have they predominantly followed the case law of international tribunals and, by doing so, have they corroborated those standards? Or have they rather ventured in new directions and, as a consequence, been involved in a creative process, establishing and refining international criminal law?Four different approaches, reflecting the position of domestic courts vis à vis the standards and case law of international criminal tribunals, are identified and analysed: strict compliance, antagonism, judicial construction, and ‘casuistry’. The author concludes that the most important contribution of domestic courts to the development of international criminal law consists of further interpretation of open-ended norms. While this is obviously inherent in the process of ‘judicial creativity’, the feature is reinforced by the non-hierarchical nature of international criminal law. As a consequence, international criminal tribunals lack the power and authority to impose their interpretation of international criminal law on domestic courts. The risk of fragmentation is mitigated, however, by the nature of criminal law, which requires strict and clear standards, and by the increasing interactions between courts at different levels.

Lessons Lived in Gender and International Criminal Law

2020 ◽  
pp. 111-122
Author(s):  
Patricia Viseur Sellers ◽  
Louise Chappell
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Accountability Practices ◽  
The Relationship

Accountability for gender-based crimes has been discussed as an important feature of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda. However, too often there has been a significant gap between the ideal of such accountability and its operation. This has been demonstrated over the past decade or so in the operations of the International Criminal Court and other tribunals such as that for conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone. Interviewing Patricia V. Sellers, leading International Criminal Law Prosecutor and Special Adviser on Gendering the Office of the Prosecutor, ICC this contribution canvasses the challenges of and lessons learned about achieving accountability for gender crimes through international criminal tribunals, the steps forward towards new accountability practices and strategies and for strengthening the relationship between these tribunals and the broader international WPS agenda.

The Trial of the Kaiser

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Schabas
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
International Criminal Justice ◽  
World War ◽  
Treaty Of Versailles ◽  
The First World War ◽  
International Morality ◽  
First Time ◽  
First World

Today’s elaborate system of international criminal justice originates in proposals at the end of the First World War to try Kaiser Wilhelm II before an international criminal tribunal. In the weeks following 11 November 1918, the British, French, and Italian Governments agreed on a trial. Lloyd George campaigned for re-election on the slogan ‘Hang the Kaiser’. The Kaiser had fled to the Netherlands, possibly after receiving signals from the Dutch Queen that he would be welcome. Renegade US soldiers led by a former Senator failed in a bizarre attempt to take him prisoner and bring him to Paris. During the Peace Conference, the Commission on Responsibilities brought international lawyers together for the first time to debate international criminal justice. They recommended trial of the Kaiser by an international tribunal for war crimes, but not for starting the war or violating Belgian neutrality. The Americans were opposed to any prosecution. However, President Wilson changed his mind and agreed to trial for a ‘supreme offence against international morality’. This became a clause in the Treaty of Versailles, one of the few that the Germans tried to resist. Although the Allies threatened a range of measures if the former Emperor was not surrendered, the Dutch refused and the demands were dropped in March 1920. The Kaiser lived out his life in a castle near Utrecht, dying of natural causes in June 1941. Hitler sent a wreath to the funeral.

scholarly journals Übersetzung pejorativer Personenbezeichnungen

2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Pavić Pintarić
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
First World War ◽  
German Language ◽  
World War ◽  
The First World War ◽  
Miroslav Krleza ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
First World

This paper investigates the translation of pejoratives referring to persons. The corpus is comprised of literary dialogues in the collection of short stories about the First World War by Miroslav Krleža. The dialogues describe the relationship between officers and soldiers. Soldiers are not well prepared for the war and are the trigger of officers’ anger. Therefore, the dialogues are rich with emotionally loaded outbursts resulting in swearwords. Swearwords relate to the intellect and skills of soldiers, and can be divided into absolute and relative pejoratives. Absolute pejoratives refer to the words that carry the negative meaning as the basis, whereas relative pejoratives are those that gain the negative meaning in a certain context. They derive from names of occupations and zoonyms. The analysis comprises the emotional embedment of swearwords, their metaphoric character and the strategies of translation from the Croatian into the German language.

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