The Establishment of an International Criminal Jurisdiction: The First Phase

1952 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuen-li Liang
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Community ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Criminal Jurisdiction

The need for an international criminal jurisdiction was recognized by the General Assembly of the United tjations in a resolution adopted in 1948, in which it was stated in the preamble thalt “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.”

International Criminal Jurisdiction

2019 ◽  
pp. 503-528
Author(s):  
Kirsten Schmalenbach
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Community ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Courts ◽  
Criminal Jurisdiction ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
State Consent ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

This chapter examines the theoretical foundations and the genealogy of international criminal jurisdiction in international law. While it is clear that international criminal jurisdiction cuts into national jurisdiction to a certain extent, the question concerning the proper foundation of international criminal jurisdiction—whether it rests on state consent or a mandate by the international community—remains more nuanced and more debated. The chapter also explores judicial perspectives on the jurisdiction of international courts and tribunals. It argues that, where the Security Council has been involved in establishing a court or tribunal, jurisprudence supports the position that international criminal jurisdiction is exercised on behalf of the international community. In the case of the International Criminal Court (ICC), however, the picture becomes more complex, due to the role of domestic criminal jurisdiction and the difficulty in identifying a single international community.

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.

The Question of the establishment of an International Criminal Jurisdiction

1949 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 478-486
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Plenary Meeting ◽  
Criminal Jurisdiction ◽  
The United Nations

The General Assembly of the United Nations, at its 179th plenary meeting on December 9, 1948, unanimously approved the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and proposed it for signature and ratification or accession in accordance with Article XI thereof. Article I of the Convention provides that “genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law.” Article V stipulates that the Contracting Parties undertake to enact, in accordance with their respective constitutions, the necessary legislation to provide effective penalties for persons guilty of genocide or any of the other acts made punishable under the Convention. Such persons are to be tried, according to Article VI, “by a competent tribunal of the State in the territory of which the act was committed, or by such international penal tribunal as may have jurisdiction with respect to those Contracting Parties which shall have accepted its jurisdiction.” The Convention thus envisages the possible creation of an international penal tribunal.

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.

Sexual Violence against Men and International Law – Criminalising the Unmentionable

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 665-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solange Mouthaan
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Community ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
The World ◽  
Gender Based

This article will discuss the manner in which international law deals with crimes of sexual violence committed against men during armed conflict. To date sexual violence against men has received little attention from the international community; instead its focus is almost exclusively on women, yet in armed conflicts across the world, sexual violence is also perpetrated against men. The example of torture demonstrates the current weaknesses in the relevant provisions for acts of sexual violence generally, and acts of sexual violence committed against men specifically. I argue that international criminal tribunals should address sexual violence more broadly, including against men. However, rather than to adopt a piecemeal approach differentiating between acts of sexual violence suffered by men and women, the experiences of men of sexual violence in armed conflict should be used to contribute to understanding the broader issue of gender-based crimes, of which sexual violence forms part.

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.

scholarly journals Identifying the Rules for Identifying Customary International Law: Response From Michael Wood and Omri Sender

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 108 ◽  
pp. 196-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Wood ◽  
Omri Sender
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Community ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Special Rapporteur ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
International Law Commission ◽  
Law Commission ◽  
Made In

We are grateful to AJIL Unbound for organizing this symposium on the work of the International Law Commission on identification of customary international law. We are particularly grateful to all who have contributed to the symposium for their interest and insights.We shall not here reply comprehensively to everything that has been said. Many points will be addressed in the Special Rapporteur’s third report, to be submitted to the UN Secretariat toward the end of March 2015 in preparation for the Commission’s session beginning in May 2015. We would only say that many of the points made in the symposium thus far seem eminently sensible, and will hopefully be seen as such by the Commission. It has to be noted, however, that the work of the Commission is collegiate, and the eventual output does not belong to the Special Rapporteur (who is just a facilitator) but to the Commission as a whole—and eventually to the General Assembly and the international community.

scholarly journals Methodological Flaws in the ILC's Study on Exceptions to Immunity Ratione Materiae of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 9-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinmin Shen
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Draft Article ◽  
Criminal Jurisdiction ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
The Core ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
International Law Commission

In July 2017, the UN International Law Commission (ILC) provisionally adopted Draft Article 7 on exceptions to immunity ratione materiae of state officials from foreign criminal jurisdiction, by a recorded vote of twenty-one votes in favor, eight votes against, and one abstention. In the view of the majority of ILC members, immunity ratione materiae does not apply to the six international crimes listed in the draft article—genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, apartheid, torture, and enforced disappearance—either because of a limitation or because of an exception. The unusual practice of adopting a draft article by recorded vote demonstrated the deep controversy among the ILC members themselves. After all, exceptions to official immunity lie at the core of the project of “Immunity of State Officials from Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction” that was started a decade ago by the ILC. This divisive Draft Article 7 naturally garnered criticism and equally deep controversy among states in discussions on the ILC's work report at UN General Assembly Sixth Committee in late October 2017.

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.

“Do Not Do Abroad What You Would Not Do at Home?”: An Exploration of the Rationales for Extraterritorial Criminal Jurisdiction over a State’s Nationals

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
FRÉDÉRIC MÉGRET
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Community ◽  
The State ◽  
Universal Jurisdiction ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Host State ◽  
Criminal Jurisdiction ◽  
Normative Account ◽  
At Home

AbstractCompared to universal jurisdiction, active nationality jurisdiction remains one of the least understood and written about forms of extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction. This article seeks to offer a normative account of the exercise of criminal jurisdiction by states over their nationals for crimes committed abroad such as sexual offences against minors, bribery of foreign public officials, or medical “circumvention” tourism. It highlights all of the reasons that militate against such assertions of jurisdiction as a matter of policy and law. It goes on to argue that the assertion of criminal jurisdiction over nationals for crimes committed abroad must be understood beyond its permissibility under international law as a modality that manifests the interests of the state of nationality, the territorial (host) state on occasion, the relevant individuals, and, increasingly, the international community.

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