Week 1. What is the ICL? & Abraham Accords; Middle Eastern peace.
Blackstone: Rome statute → icc
International criminal law (ICL)
What is ICL?
- Estemblist not by the UN but by states.
- The ICL is never closed.
- It’s a reaction to massive atrocities globally
- It have the same sources as the ICJ → art. 38 ICJ.
- Deals with responsibility of individuals for international crimes.
- Prosecutes core crimes, but no generally accepted de nition of international crimes (which is
interesting, because we have the Rome statute). Art. 5 ICL → the four core crimes.
- Permanent court is located in
Scheveningen, The Hague, NL;
- Convictions of:
- Massive atrocities
- After ww2
- Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals
the de nition of ICL not generally accepted,
but we can look at the four core crimes
- depends on context matter
- Rome statute art. 5-8bis.
Art. 7 are examples of crimes against humanity
The ICL have a connection with IHL and human rights (IHRL)
IHRL:
- ICCPR and ICESCR provisions connected with ICL.
- Widespread and systematic human rights violations (IAC v. NIAC)
- General principle of law has sources in IHRL (Tadic, §42 - 47)
- Violation of ICL is violation of IHR, but not other way around per se;
IHL
- Crimes against humanity was the rst crime (nuremberg) and linked with war;
- IHL and ICL both protect victims of armed con icts
- Judgment international tribunals may in uence IHL.
→ not per se the other way around
→ law of war crimes continuously innovated
There is a relationship with International law: State responsibility has separate legal instruments,
ICL only covers half (see elements of attribution, wrongful act and ARSIWA International Law,
weeks 2, 3 & 4);
Aims, objectives, justi cations
Broader objectives and goals;
To prosecute individually responsible perpetrators of core crimes before competent tribunals.
- objectives formulated by International law and IHL
- Gives/o ers closure and justice for victims, important role for victims. (Al Mahdi §67)
- Truth-telling narrative in trials and focussing on history (Karadzic §46)
- In many cases, it’s necessary to prosecute, especially for CAH and genocide
- Reconciliation or no peace without justice
- Prosecutions focus on restoring peace in con ict-torn areas, yet many leave many locals
unsatis ed (they won’t get proper closure → transitional justice).
- Less sensitive to political in uences (in comparison to local trials).
1.
fififf fi fl fi fl flfl fi à
, Criminal responsibility
What is individual criminal responsibility
- International tribunals go for the ‘big sh’ (bigger people)
- Di erent variations (modes of liability)
→ superior/command responsibility → instructing and exercises power, meaning the
individual has e ective control. (Art 28, ICC, relevant for exam).
→ assisting, aiding, and abiding → o ering materials (weapons) nances, encouraging or
inciting
→ instigating (pushing them) or planning → making it possible, detailed planning, preparation
Needs to study it, not standing anywhere.
- Joint criminal enterprise I, II and III (Tadic, § 185)
→ used by tribunals to investigate the collective, widespread, and systematic elements of a
core crime
- All the roles are custom
- Rule 102 (Henckearts, ICRC)
- Art. 25 ICC; Individual criminal responsibility.
- Art. 7 ICTY statute.
In order to nd out whether the perp is responsible for the committed (core) crime involved, the
judges look at the Mens Rea and Actus Reus.
Mens Rea
• Actual guilt, mental element
• The intent to commit a crime
• Important: Special intent (intentional, knowingly causes harm) or general intent (knowing it is
prohibited by law)
• Modes of liability/elements of crime
- e.g. aiding and abetting
- e.g. soliciting-inducting
Actus Reus
• Actual act, physical act
• The actual commission of a crime
• Voluntary act (recklessness, negligence, strict liability)
• Modes of liability/elements of crime
- e.g. instigating or planning
* Which (combined) can lead to: (1) superior or (2) command responsibility in
- International criminal responsibility can only be achieved IF both elements are present
- Proving mens rea is sometimes needed for the actus reus, but not per se the other way
around
- You don’t need both, but you can have both, then you have a higher sentence
- Actus reus + mens rea = crime
Examples of proving guilt (dolus)
1. Starts with the knowledge about genocidal intention.
2. Subordinates or superior
Superior (planning)
1. Knew or had reason to know
2. Superior responsibility
Subordinates (dolus specialis)
1. Special intent
2. Crime of genocide
Abraham accords; middle east (case study; custom)
What’s the purpose of this peace treaty and why is it relevant
- the AA normalizes diplomatic relations with Israel, UAE, Bahrain, Sudan,
Morocco, Oman, and Saudi Arabia (2020 - now) → Biden administration is not a fan of the
2.
ff fi ff fffi fi
, peace treaty
- Middle Eastern peace or con ict impacts the entirety of the world.
- Historic moment for Arab states to join
→ two-state solution will come, but won’t last for long
- Parties involved directly (and lurking in the background) are the current power blocks of the
world;
- In uences on economics, the environment and converging world entities
(globalisation);
- Newly formed coalition Middle East will change the world (dynamics) forever;
→Scepticism/hesistancy now, but soon it will be strenghtened/con rmed via
diplomatic channel(s).
3.
fl
fl fi
Blackstone: Rome statute → icc
International criminal law (ICL)
What is ICL?
- Estemblist not by the UN but by states.
- The ICL is never closed.
- It’s a reaction to massive atrocities globally
- It have the same sources as the ICJ → art. 38 ICJ.
- Deals with responsibility of individuals for international crimes.
- Prosecutes core crimes, but no generally accepted de nition of international crimes (which is
interesting, because we have the Rome statute). Art. 5 ICL → the four core crimes.
- Permanent court is located in
Scheveningen, The Hague, NL;
- Convictions of:
- Massive atrocities
- After ww2
- Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals
the de nition of ICL not generally accepted,
but we can look at the four core crimes
- depends on context matter
- Rome statute art. 5-8bis.
Art. 7 are examples of crimes against humanity
The ICL have a connection with IHL and human rights (IHRL)
IHRL:
- ICCPR and ICESCR provisions connected with ICL.
- Widespread and systematic human rights violations (IAC v. NIAC)
- General principle of law has sources in IHRL (Tadic, §42 - 47)
- Violation of ICL is violation of IHR, but not other way around per se;
IHL
- Crimes against humanity was the rst crime (nuremberg) and linked with war;
- IHL and ICL both protect victims of armed con icts
- Judgment international tribunals may in uence IHL.
→ not per se the other way around
→ law of war crimes continuously innovated
There is a relationship with International law: State responsibility has separate legal instruments,
ICL only covers half (see elements of attribution, wrongful act and ARSIWA International Law,
weeks 2, 3 & 4);
Aims, objectives, justi cations
Broader objectives and goals;
To prosecute individually responsible perpetrators of core crimes before competent tribunals.
- objectives formulated by International law and IHL
- Gives/o ers closure and justice for victims, important role for victims. (Al Mahdi §67)
- Truth-telling narrative in trials and focussing on history (Karadzic §46)
- In many cases, it’s necessary to prosecute, especially for CAH and genocide
- Reconciliation or no peace without justice
- Prosecutions focus on restoring peace in con ict-torn areas, yet many leave many locals
unsatis ed (they won’t get proper closure → transitional justice).
- Less sensitive to political in uences (in comparison to local trials).
1.
fififf fi fl fi fl flfl fi à
, Criminal responsibility
What is individual criminal responsibility
- International tribunals go for the ‘big sh’ (bigger people)
- Di erent variations (modes of liability)
→ superior/command responsibility → instructing and exercises power, meaning the
individual has e ective control. (Art 28, ICC, relevant for exam).
→ assisting, aiding, and abiding → o ering materials (weapons) nances, encouraging or
inciting
→ instigating (pushing them) or planning → making it possible, detailed planning, preparation
Needs to study it, not standing anywhere.
- Joint criminal enterprise I, II and III (Tadic, § 185)
→ used by tribunals to investigate the collective, widespread, and systematic elements of a
core crime
- All the roles are custom
- Rule 102 (Henckearts, ICRC)
- Art. 25 ICC; Individual criminal responsibility.
- Art. 7 ICTY statute.
In order to nd out whether the perp is responsible for the committed (core) crime involved, the
judges look at the Mens Rea and Actus Reus.
Mens Rea
• Actual guilt, mental element
• The intent to commit a crime
• Important: Special intent (intentional, knowingly causes harm) or general intent (knowing it is
prohibited by law)
• Modes of liability/elements of crime
- e.g. aiding and abetting
- e.g. soliciting-inducting
Actus Reus
• Actual act, physical act
• The actual commission of a crime
• Voluntary act (recklessness, negligence, strict liability)
• Modes of liability/elements of crime
- e.g. instigating or planning
* Which (combined) can lead to: (1) superior or (2) command responsibility in
- International criminal responsibility can only be achieved IF both elements are present
- Proving mens rea is sometimes needed for the actus reus, but not per se the other way
around
- You don’t need both, but you can have both, then you have a higher sentence
- Actus reus + mens rea = crime
Examples of proving guilt (dolus)
1. Starts with the knowledge about genocidal intention.
2. Subordinates or superior
Superior (planning)
1. Knew or had reason to know
2. Superior responsibility
Subordinates (dolus specialis)
1. Special intent
2. Crime of genocide
Abraham accords; middle east (case study; custom)
What’s the purpose of this peace treaty and why is it relevant
- the AA normalizes diplomatic relations with Israel, UAE, Bahrain, Sudan,
Morocco, Oman, and Saudi Arabia (2020 - now) → Biden administration is not a fan of the
2.
ff fi ff fffi fi
, peace treaty
- Middle Eastern peace or con ict impacts the entirety of the world.
- Historic moment for Arab states to join
→ two-state solution will come, but won’t last for long
- Parties involved directly (and lurking in the background) are the current power blocks of the
world;
- In uences on economics, the environment and converging world entities
(globalisation);
- Newly formed coalition Middle East will change the world (dynamics) forever;
→Scepticism/hesistancy now, but soon it will be strenghtened/con rmed via
diplomatic channel(s).
3.
fl
fl fi
