International Criminal Law Of Children

"This book addresses the international criminal law of children, which constitutes one of the major branches of public international criminal law. It brings together the imperative key codes of the international humanitarian law of armed conflict, international human rights law, international criminal law, and international criminal justice in conjunction with the legal statute of children, with a diverse range of methods and positions on the origin of national criminal laws. It proves that children are an especially precious subject of international jurisprudence, and therefore violating their rights in the time of armed conflict is not only a crime of international character, but also an assault against the most elementary, ethical philosophy of universal moral justice. The book also addresses questions relating to the rape, torture, or killing of minors/children in different parts of our globe. The theme of the book condemns various brutal conducts authorized by governments against children both in times of war and of peace such as genocide or recruitment of child soldiers. Through this, the book evaluates the principles of jus cogens and erga omnes which have been constantly violated by various states over the last several centuries up until today. The powerful theory of the book is strongly recommended to all law and public libraries in the world. It should be read by students of law and politics, international lawyers, researchers of criminal law, military offices including peacekeeping missions"--

This book addresses the international criminal law of children, which constitutes one of the major branches of public international criminal law. It brings together the imperative key codes of the international humanitarian law of armed conflict, international human rights law, international criminal law, and international criminal justice in conjunction with the legal statute of children, with a diverse range of methods and positions on the origin of national criminal laws. It proves that children are an especially precious subject of international jurisprudence, and therefore violating their rights in the time of armed conflict is not only a crime of international character, but also an assault against the most elementary, ethical philosophy of universal moral justice. The book also addresses questions relating to the rape, torture, or killing of minors/children in different parts of our globe. The theme of the book condemns various brutal conducts authorized by governments against children both in times of war and of peace such as genocide or recruitment of child soldiers. Through this, the book evaluates the principles of jus cogens and erga omnes which have been constantly violated by various states over the last several centuries up until today. The powerful theory of the book is strongly recommended to all law and public libraries in the world. It should be read by students of law and politics, international lawyers, researchers of criminal law, military offices including peacekeeping missions.

This book addresses age-based persecution of children as a crime against humanity in connection with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (persecution - with some variation in the elements of the crime - is an existing offence under the Rome Statute of the permanent International Criminal Court, the statutes of various international criminal tribunals i.e. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and under the statutes of other international criminal courts (i.e. the Special Court of Sierra Leone)). The book introduces a completely original concept in international criminal law, however, in discussing age-based persecution of children as an international crime against humanity where (i) the particular discrete child collective is targeted ‘as such’ for international atrocity crimes or (ii) individual children are targeted based on their age-based group identity as it intersects with other perpetrator – targeted characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, religion etc.

This book investigates the use of duress as a defence in international criminal law, specifically in cases of child soldiers. The prosecution of children for international crimes often only focuses on whether children can and should be prosecuted under international law. However, it is rarely considered what would happen to these children at the trial stage. This work offers a nuanced approach towards international prosecution and considers how children could be implicated and defended in international courts. This study will be of interest to academics and practitioners working in international criminal law, transitional justice and children’s rights.

International crimes and other forms of violence and the abuse of children are disturbing daily realities in today’s world. Children and young persons are increasingly and routinely targeted for the purposes of murder, rape, abduction, mutilation, recruitment as child soldiers, trafficking, sexual exploitation and other abuses. Particularly in situations of armed conflict children prove to be vulnerable and at risk. The situations in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Philippines, Nepal, Colombia, and many others tragically illustrate this. This book is among the very first academic publications that are solely devoted to the topic of international criminal accountability and the rights of children. A rich combination of practitioners (including ICC, ICTY and SCSL prosecutors) and academics present a wealth of relevant material in this field. They explore to what extent international law instruments and international criminal accountability mechanisms are potentially useful for countering violations of children’s rights in and after armed conflict. Likewise, they analyze to what extent the tendency of profiling children’s rights much more strongly than before – mainly under the umbrella of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in the form of child rights-based approaches – converges with the features of international criminal accountability mechanisms such as the International Criminal Court, the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Next to academics interested in the fields of international criminal law and human rights law, practitioners, policy makers and representatives of the military will benefit from reading this book. Dr. Karin Arts is Associate Professor in International Law and Development at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The Netherlands. Dr. Vesselin Popovski is Director of Studies for the International Order and Justice, Peace and Governance Programme, United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan.

This book deals with child soldiers’ involvement in crimes under international law. Child soldiers are often victims of grave human rights abuses, and yet, in some cases, they also participate actively in inflicting violence upon others. Nonetheless, the international discourse on child soldiers often tends to ignore the latter dimension of children’s involvement in armed conflict and instead focuses exclusively on their role as victims. While it might seem as though the discourse is therefore beneficial for child soldiers as it protects them from blame and responsibility, it is important to realize that the so-called passive victim narrative entails various adverse consequences, which can hinder the successful reintegration of child soldiers into their families, communities and societies. This book aims to address this dilemma. First, the available options for dealing with child soldiers’ participation in crimes under international law, such as transitional justice and criminal justice, and their shortcomings are analyzed in depth. Subsequently a new approach is developed towards achieving accountability in a child-adequate way, which is called restorative transitional justice. This book is in the first place aimed at researchers with an interest in child soldiers, children and armed conflict, as well as international criminal law, transitional justice, juvenile justice, restorative justice, children’s rights, and international human rights law. Secondly, professionals working on issues of transitional justice, juvenile justice, international criminal law, children’s rights, and the reintegration of child soldiers will also find the subject matter of great relevance to their practice. Dr. Leonie Steinl, LL.M. (Columbia) is a Researcher and Lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the Humboldt-Universität in Berlin.

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its core legal texts from a children's rights perspective. It examines the ICC provisions and its case law, evaluating whether these meet international children's rights standards, particularly with regards to the protection of child victims and witnesses, their participation as victims in ICC proceedings, and their role as beneficiaries in reparations. The book proposes recommendations that could be adopted in order to guarantee children's rights in ICC proceedings. The book will be useful tool for practitioners as well as for academics, both in the area of international criminal law as well as children's rights. *** It is with research such as the one carried out by Dr. Chamberlain that the future jurisprudence of the International Criminal Court will progress and advance the application and interpretation of the Rome Statute with a human rights perspective. -- from the Foreword by Elizabeth Odio Benito, Former Judge International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court Subject: International Law, Criminal Law, Human Rights Law, Children's Law]

This study examines the procedural implications of child participation in the proceedings before the International Criminal Court