scholarly journals Application of universal jurisdiction for war crimes in national legislations of states: comparative analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 24-27
Author(s):  
Alovsat Vilayet Allahverdiyev ◽  
Keyword(s):  
War Crimes ◽  
Universal Jurisdiction ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
National Jurisdiction

The present article is dedicated to the meaning, nature and scope of the universal jurisdiction over war crimes as well as the use of universal jurisdiction in the practice of various states. The universal jurisdiction on war crimes can be considered as one of the cornerstones of the current international law areas, particularly international criminal law and international humanitarian law. In this regard, not only international courts, but also national judiciary applies the concept of universal jurisdiction while overviewing the criminal cases of world-wide importance. The article deals with war crimes and the application of universal jurisdiction, which pose a serious threat to international peace and security. First of all, the essence of universal jurisdiction, the disagreement over its application and, consequently, its importance are touched upon. It has become the responsibility of states to prosecute or to extradite those convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity, aggression and genocide, regardless of their nationality or home country. Of course, the goal here is to ensure that those convicted of international crimes that are dangerous to humanity go unpunished with no exception. There are many case examples from the national jurisdiction of different states and the article refers to specific court judgements in this regard. Finally, the author considers recommendations regarding the establishment of national legislation what allows more efficient application of universal jurisdiction in connection with war crimes.

(Re)Considering Gender Jurisprudence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Viseur Sellers
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Panoramic View ◽  
Panoramic Views

The chapter reviews gender jurisprudence in international humanitarian law and international criminal law, and urges a reconsideration of this jurisprudence. It examines aspects of the crime of genocide to illustrate the “narrow” strand of gender jurisprudence focused on sexual violence, as well as a more “panoramic” view that has emerged in recent years. The chapter concludes by moving beyond the binary of the narrow and panoramic views of gender jurisprudence. It argues that gender jurisprudence acts as an independent measure of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Such a comprehensive reading of gender jurisprudence provides an analytical tool for practitioners to reconceptualize redress under international criminal law.

scholarly journals La legítima defensa en Derecho Internacional Penal: análisis de sus elementos con particular referencia a los crímenes de guerra

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 230-275
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Servín Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
Third Person

The present investigation analyzes the elements of self-defense in International Criminal Law with particular reference to war crimes. In that regard, article 31.1, subsection C, of the Rome Statute is examined to demonstrate that self-defense in relation with crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression protects the person who exercise it and a third person, but in relation with war crimes, its protection also covers, without precedent, property. Nevertheless, this could be contrary to International Humanitarian Law.

scholarly journals SYRIA – “THE WAR WITH MULTIPLE PROXIES”. VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-178
Author(s):  
Daniela Vetina Ene
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil War ◽  
International Conflict ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Amnesty International ◽  
Geneva Conventions ◽  
The Arab Spring

The civil war in Syria, triggered by the pro-democracy demonstrations of the "Arab Spring", was a complicated combination of religious, cultural and ethnic-identity contradictions. The non-international conflict was turned into a "battlefield" for foreign powers, which led to the transformation of a civil war into a "war with multiple proxies". The United Nations' efforts to mediate the conflict, based on a six-point plan, remained in the draft phase. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have denounced flagrant violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the al-Assad regime, which has widely used non-discriminatory weapons banned in violation of the Geneva Conventions, 1949. The Bashār al-Assad regime is accused by the international community of being guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but attempts to incriminate it have failed.

‘We Demand Dignity for the Victims’ – Reflections on the Legal Qualification of the Indecent Disposal of Corpses

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 896-925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Fournet ◽  
Nicole Siller
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings

‘We demand dignity for the victims’. Such was the pledge of the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs following the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight mh17 in rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine and the looting of the corpses of the 298 victims. Although not an isolated instance, the indecent disposal of the corpses of the victims seems to have escaped legal scrutiny. Drawing from this and other case studies, this article addresses the legal qualification of acts of mistreatment perpetrated against the corpses of victims of international crimes. It analyses all relevant dispositions pertaining to international humanitarian law, international criminal law and the law of trafficking in human beings. While these provisions fail to legally characterize such acts, the judiciary however tends to recognize their criminality; a recognition which, in the authors’ views, could make its way into the text of international (criminal) law.

Amnesties and international humanitarian law: Purpose and scope

2018 ◽  
Vol 101 (910) ◽  
pp. 357-363
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Universal Jurisdiction ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Additional Protocol ◽  
Geneva Conventions

States party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I of 1977 have an obligation to take measures necessary to suppress all acts contrary to their provisions. Moreover, States must investigate war crimes allegedly committed by their nationals or on their territory, and other war crimes over which they have jurisdiction, such as on the basis of universal jurisdiction, and, if appropriate, prosecute the suspects. In accordance with these obligations and the limits they impose, States may adopt certain measures during and in the aftermath of armed conflicts to promote reconciliation and peace, one of which is amnesties. International humanitarian law (IHL) contains rules pertaining to the granting and scope of amnesties. Specifically, Article 6(5) of Protocol II additional to the Geneva Conventions relating to non-international armed conflicts (NIACs) provides that, at the end of hostilities, the authorities in power shall endeavour to grant the broadest possible amnesty to persons who have participated in the armed conflict, or those deprived of their liberty for reasons related to the armed conflict. Importantly, under customary IHL (as identified in Rule 159 of the ICRC customary IHL study), this excludes persons suspected of, accused of, or sentenced for war crimes in NIACs.

The Dangers of the Obvious but Often Disregarded Details in the International Criminal Law Demarcation Debate: Norm-Integration and the Triple-Thesis ‘Argument’

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 759-783
Author(s):  
Anja Matwijkiw
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Post Conflict

When responses to international crimes are managed in terms of post-conflict justice, this event may end ‘the demarcation debate’ before it has begun, thereby rendering it superfluous among legal scholars. This is to say that the transition from theory to reality arguably has the effect of cancelling any sharp distinction between international criminal law, international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as well as extending international criminal justice into the moral territory. Certainly, this is a premise for the dual-aspect defense of those rights that help to explain the non-separation. However, to the extent that the defense discords with traditional assumptions, relevant aspects of pro-separation reasoning must be considered. These are accommodated under the triple-thesis whereby the unequal status of different (rights-)categories limit norm-integration. The author’s account of the competing programs shows a series of flaws in the case of the triple-thesis doctrine, amounting to a vicious circle ‘argument’.

The International Criminal Court and Non-International Armed Conflicts

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heike Spieker
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Conflicts

Non-international armed conflicts are more numerous, more brutal and entail more blood-shed today than international ones. The Statute of the International Criminal Court explicitly upholds the traditional distinction between international and non-international conflicts, and armed conflicts will have to be characterized accordingly. But the tendency to adapt the international humanitarian law (IHL) regime for non-international conflicts to the rules for international ones emerges. Article 7 on Crimes Against Humanity and Article 8(2)(c) and (e) on War Crimes amount to real progress in this respect. Yet, the regulation on war crimes in particular does not provide for comprehensive criminal responsibility of individual perpetrators in non-international conflicts.

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