Conscience Of Lawyers In International Criminal Law

Empowering ethical codes is vital in all branches of law because without these codes we would be unable to differentiate between right and wrong in our personal judgments. Lawyers can either be the most precious or the most precarious parties in a criminal case, depending on the state of their conscience. In such cases, immorality replaces morality, and legal norms become pawns in a game, the goal of which is to serve the economic interests of the lawyer. The lawyer becomes a greater threat to the truth when they support the establishment of special tribunals meant to hide the truth, such as was seen in Iraq, or when they receive payment in order to cover up genocide in places such as Myanmar and in the territories of the superpowers. Such lawyers then turn around and condemn the same crimes in places such as China. They speak out against crimes against humanity carried out by the Iranian government, but do not say a single word about crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide committed by the Saudi Arabian Israeli, American, French, and British governments. Here, doppelgänger attorneys do not present the true image of justice, but rather work to convince the international public that their brutal clients are innocent. The situation is even more complicated when we are dealing with very sensitive questions of international criminal justice under various criminal procedures directed by lawyers in the ICJ, the ICC, or in ad hoc tribunals. What is the nature of integrity, impartiality, conscience, truth, and payments, and why are lawyers increasingly being sponsored and directed by outsiders? This book reveals the forbidden truth--an embarrassment and moral weakness of conscience. The reader can hardly put the book down! Every library should obtain it.

The most commonly cited justification for international criminal law is that it addresses crimes of such gravity that they "shock the conscience of humanity." From decisions about how to define crimes and when to exercise jurisdiction, to limitations on defences and sentencing determinations, gravity rhetoric permeates the discourse of international criminal law. Yet the concept of gravity has thus far remained highly undertheorized. This book uncovers the consequences for the regime's legitimacy of its heavy reliance on the poorly understood idea of gravity. Margaret M. deGuzman argues that gravity's ambiguity may at times enable a thin consensus to emerge around decisions, such as the creation of an institution or the definition of a crime, but that, increasingly, it undermines efforts to build a strong and resilient global justice community. The book suggests ways to reconceptualize gravity in line with global values and goals to better support the long-term legitimacy of international criminal law.

Drawing on the critical legal tradition, the collection of international scholars gathered in this volume analyse the complicities and limitations of International Criminal Law. This area of law has recently experienced a significant surge in scholarship and public debate; individual criminal accountability is now firmly entrenched in both international law and the international consciousness as a necessary mechanism of responsibility. Critical Approaches to International Criminal Law: An Introduction shifts the debate towards that which has so far been missing from the mainstream discussion: the possible injustices, exclusions, and biases of International Criminal Law. This collection of essays is the first dedicated to the topic of critical approaches to international criminal law. It will be a valuable resource for scholars and students of international criminal law, international law, international legal theory, criminal law, and criminology.

The most commonly cited justification for international criminal law is that it addresses crimes of such gravity that they "shock the conscience of humanity." From decisions about how to define crimes and when to exercise jurisdiction, to limitations on defences and sentencing determinations, gravity rhetoric permeates the discourse of international criminal law. Yet the concept of gravity has thus far remained highly undertheorized. This book uncovers the consequences for the regime's legitimacy of its heavy reliance on the poorly understood idea of gravity. Margaret M. deGuzman argues that gravity's ambiguity may at times enable a thin consensus to emerge around decisions, such as the creation of an institution or the definition of a crime, but that, increasingly, it undermines efforts to build a strong and resilient global justice community. The book suggests ways to reconceptualize gravity in line with global values and goals to better support the long-term legitimacy of international criminal law.

This book evaluates the resting pulse of national and international criminal justice in conjunction with the actual definition of the truth which burdens prosecutors. Prosecutors have several valuable, yet inconspicuous tasks which are significant to criminal procedure. In criminal justice, the conscience of justice is based on the pursuit of the truth by using evidence. As a rule of genuine judgment, we seek to discuss the principle of truth and its enforcement in the proceedings of criminal justice. The visual perception of moral law and its imperative function governing the theory of ethical obligations, responsibilities, and duties of the prosecutor in the criminal jurisdiction therefore represents the primary starting point for all of our judgments. Prosecutors should actively ensure that both powerful and powerless criminals are brought to justice. The main objective of the statute of the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) claims to uphold the high moral precedent which must be set by the Office of the Prosecutor. However, the actual practice of the ICC has instead led to millions of deaths, including those of innocent children, as well as the destruction of countries whose protection is not considered to be in "the interest of justice". If the ICC wishes to establish justice for victims, then the deterrence of impunity for any criminal should be its priority. The ICC should not become a pawn of the political superpowers or the platform through which the prosecutor can misuse classified documents to serve their personal interests. The ultimate nature of justice cannot be comprehensive if impartial validity is not the permanent foundation of the core pillars in all criminal proceedings. This book is recommended to anyone who concerns themselves with legal questions of criminal justice and its efficacy.

For the author, a judge is a person with high ethical and moral capacity who respects their position. When we think of a court, we think about a place where we confront the truth, where every single individual, every judge and prosecutor, every victim and witness, and every accused person, offender, and the condemned, come together to reveal the naked truth. The main objective of criminal proceedings is to uphold a pure juridical system with full ethical conscience in order to protect the rights of all individuals, including members of the general public. Judges of criminal courts are required to be independent in order to pursue the truth and uphold judicial conscience, which is itself an institution based on the professional values of criminal justice. A judge with ample judicial conscience should not be afraid of being attacked or losing their position if they work to uphold and uncover the truth. This implies the independent freedom of judicial justice. If justice is safe, then the safety of the victims and the accused will also be guaranteed. That is why confidence in the professional standards of the ethical requirements of judges of national criminal courts or of the International Criminal Court is heavily contingent upon their honesty, which in turn relates to their practical experiences and ought to be based on the knowledge of the essence of humanity. Professional ethics are particularly vital when evaluating diverse values and the very question of pluralist systems of national or international criminal justice which deal with core international crimes. The intention of this work is to evaluate the way in which our administration of national and international criminal justice requires judges to be impartial, pursue the truth, and not be the puppets of politicians.

The literature and jurisprudence of international criminal law relies on the claim that international crimes are exceptionally grave. DeGuzman looks to build the legitimacy of international law by exposing the value choices that the rhetoric of 'gravity' entails, and poses a new framework for assessing the legitimacy of international criminal law.