Towards an International Criminal Court

1950 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vespasian V. Pella
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
International Court ◽  
Nulla Poena Sine Lege ◽  
International Law Commission

The United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1948, adopted a resolution reciting that “in the course of development of the international community, there will be an increasing need of an international judicial organ for the trial of certain crimes under international law,” and therefore inviting the International Law Commission to study the desirability and possibility of establishing such a judicial organ, in particular as “a Criminal Chamber of the International Court of Justice.” Further, in approving the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, the General Assembly endorsed a principle of the greatest import for the codification of international criminal law: that of nullum crimen sine lege, nulla poena sine lege.

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.

A “Special Court” for Sierra Leone?

2001 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Cryer
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
High Tide ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Military Tribunal ◽  
International Law Commission

The conflict in Sierra Leone began in 1991 and still continues. It has led to over 50,000 deaths. The fighting has been characterised by the use of child combatants and widespread mutilation of civilians by amputation. When the conflict began, it would have seemed improbable that any UN response would include a forum for the trial of international crimes. After all, even the high tide of international enforcement of international criminal law, the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal, had begun to be excised from mainstream treatments of international law.1 The possibility of a permanent international criminal court had recently been revived, and sent to the International Law Commission for consideration, but the record of the ILC with controversial projects would not have led to an expectation of quick progress.2 Yet, nearly 10 years on, the UN is now involved in setting up a fourth criminal court,3 the “Special Court” for Sierra Leone. Despite the selectivity inherent in ad hoc reactions, and the continuing opposition to the Rome Statute in some quarters, it is now difficult to deny that progress is being made towards a new form of international criminal order where the improbability of prosecution for international crimes can ne longer be presumed.

2. The sources of international law

2019 ◽  
pp. 18-44
Author(s):  
James Crawford
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Judicial Decisions ◽  
Material Sources ◽  
International Court ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
General Principles Of Law ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

This chapter discusses the sources of international law, as reflected in Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, and covers international custom, treaties, general principles of law, and judicial decisions. It also describes other material sources: the conclusions of international conferences, resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the writings of publicists, and codification and the work of the International Law Commission, concluding with other considerations applicable in judicial reasoning.

The Yerodia Ruling of the International Court of Justice and the 1993/1999 Belgian Law on Universal Jurisdiction

2003 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALAIN WINANTS
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
National Court ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Universal Jurisdiction ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
The Relationship

The 1993/1999 Belgian Law on Universal Jurisdiction allows for prosecution before Belgian domestic courts regardless of the nationality of perpetrators or victims, the place where the breaches were committed, or the presence on Belgian territory of the alleged perpetrators. Is universal jurisdiction contrary to international law? Is universal jurisdiction in absentia permitted under Belgian law and under international law? What is the relationship between universal jurisdiction, as exercised by a national court, and the Statute of the International Criminal Court? This article provides an overview of the Belgian legislation and its future with regard to international law and the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Canadian Implementing Legislation for the Rome Statute

2000 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 337-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Schabas
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Ongoing Work ◽  
Preparatory Committee ◽  
Draft Statute ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

Canada has been very much at the centre of the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) since the momentum shifted in late-1994 from the International Law Commission (ILC) to more broadly representative bodies established by the General Assembly. It was Canada that chaired the ‘like-minded’, a group of states active during the several sessions of the Preparatory Committee and during the Diplomatic Conference in Rome from 15 June to 17 July 1998. The ‘like-minded’ were committed to invigorating the ILC's draft statute by enhancing the independence of the Prosecutor and trimming the sails of the Security Council. At Rome, Canadian diplomat Philippe Kirsch was elected chair of the Committee of the Whole, and he directed the intense negotiations throughout the five-week session. Kirsch crafted the final package of compromises that was submitted to the Conference at its close, on the morning of 17 July, and that succeeded in rallying the vast majority of delegations when put to a vote later that day. Since then, Kirsch and his team have presided over the ongoing work of the Preparatory Commission.

scholarly journals RETURN TO SENDER: LET THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE JUSTIFY OR QUALIFY INTERNATIONAL-CRIMINAL-COURT EXCEPTIONALISM REGARDING PERSONAL IMMUNITIES

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 596-611
Author(s):  
Sarah M.H. Nouwen
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Advisory Opinion ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court

AbstractThis article argues that it is important for the International Court of Justice to be given an opportunity, for instance through a request for an Advisory Opinion, to explain what exactly it meant when it suggested that the ordinarily applicable international law on immunities need not be an obstacle “before certain international criminal courts, where they have jurisdiction”. Two international criminal courts have built a structure of case law on this one obiter comment, which it seems unable to support.

scholarly journals Crimes against humanity in the works of the International Law Commission on the draft articles on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-44
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Masło
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Criminal Proceedings ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
Law Commission

Crimes against humanity, besides war crimes, belong to the most frequently committed and prosecuted crimes of international law. Recently, the International Law Commission adopted draft Articles on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, bridging the gap in international criminal law and in international cooperation between states. When discussing the draft Articles on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, the International Law Commission did not act in a vacuum. The issue of understanding crimes against humanity and the obligations of states related to the prevention and punishment of these crimes has appeared in the works of the Commission since the 1950s, primarily in connection with the development of the draft Code of crimes against the peace and security of mankind and the statute of the International Criminal Court. Based on its previous experiences, the International Law Commission focused on four issues to be covered by the draft Articles: 1) definition of crimes against humanity; 2) the obligation of states to criminalise such crimes in domestic law; 3) the obligation of states to cooperate in the investigation, prosecution and punishment of these offences; 4) the duty of aut dedere aut judicare fortified by the perpetrator’s stay in the territory of the state party. Considering the broad support for the definition of crimes against humanity adopted in the ICC Statute and its complementary character, the International Law Commission adopted the definition of art. 7 of the ICC Statute. The works of the International Law Commission are focused on the obligations of countries related to prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, especially: the obligation to criminalise crimes against humanity and to establish jurisdiction over those crimes. The International Law Commission also formulated a series of obligations of states with a procedural character in the draft Articles, for example, obligation to conduct prompt and efficient criminal proceedings, the purpose of which is to explain all the circumstances of the crime and to punish the guilty person or persons.

The International Law Commission

1966 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 64-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Gotlieb
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
General Scheme ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission

One of the principal achievements of the United Nations is its work in codifying and developing international law. The International Law Commission, created in 1949, a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, is the chief agency of the United Nations for achieving these tasks. The Chairman of the Commission at its sixteenth session, Professor Roberto Ago of Italy, stated in the Commission on July 16, 1964, that if the codification work which was now taking place in that body could be completed and accepted by states, progress would have been made without precedent since the time of Grotius.So well-established has the International Law Commission become on the international scene that it is almost surprising to recall that the existence of this body rests, not on any specific wording of the United Nations Charter calling for the creation of such a body of experts, but on the general phraseology of Article 13 of the Charter which provides that “the General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of: (a) promoting … and encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification.” In the space of seventeen years the International Law Commission has achieved widespread recognition for the high quality of its work; it would be no exaggeration to say that it has come to be regarded as rivaling in importance the work of the International Court of Justice. As “the principal judicial organ of the United Nations,” as successor to the Permanent Court of Justice — a new feature of international institutions in the modern era — and as the highest international judicial tribunal, the International Court of Justice is regarded, in the general scheme of the Charter, as an exceptionally prestigious body.

Rethinking Aggression as a Crime and Formulating Its Elements: The Final Work-Product of the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court

2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 859-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger S. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Security Council ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
The Political ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
International Court ◽  
Final Work

The crime of aggression will be included within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court once agreement is reached on its definition and the conditions for exercising jurisdiction. The author discusses the ultimately unsuccessful efforts of the now concluded Preparatory Commission for the Court to complete the drafting. He suggests how the mental and material elements of the offense might be structured consistently with other offenses in the Statute of the Court. Probably the biggest intellectual hurdle is that of “conditions.” A number of states, notably the Permanent Members of the Security Council, insist that there must be a predetermination of an act of aggression by a state made by the Security Council. Others believe that the predetermination can be made by the General Assembly or the International Court of Justice. Yet others claim that all decisions must be made by the International Criminal Court. The political choice between these positions has still to be made.

A Moving Target

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippa Webb
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Moving Target ◽  
International Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
International Court ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Right Of Access ◽  
National Practice

The last 50 years have seen significant changes in the law of immunity. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has, over the past 15 years in particular, played an influential role in the law applicable to this ‘moving target’. This chapter examines three approaches of the ECtHR to the identification of general international law: (i) the ECtHR looking to the International Court of Justice; (ii) the ECtHR looking to national practice; and (iii) the ECtHR looking to the work of the International Law Commission and the provisional application of treaties. Although the ECtHR strives to locate itself within general international law, it necessarily approaches the immunities of States, officials, and international organizations through the lens of Article 6 ECHR and whether the immunity in question constitutes a legitimate and proportionate restriction on the right of access to court. This has, at times, taken the Court down a different path to other judicial bodies and we can identify the emergence of a ‘European approach’ to the role of immunity in employment disputes.

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