The Criminal Responsibility Of Individuals For Violations Of International Humanitarian Law

In this book, Elies van Sliedregt examines the concept of individual criminal responsibility for violations of international humanitarian law, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Such crimes are very rarely committed by single individuals, but mostly by organizations or groups of cooperating persons. For a just determination of their guilt and responsibility, a fair assessment of the mutual relationships and cooperation forms of those individuals is indispensable. This book provides the framework for that assessment. It gives guidance to practitioners and scholars on how to understand and to apply international criminal law concepts such as 'common purpose', 'superior responsibility', 'duress' and the 'defence of superior orders'. It does so by bringing to light the roots of those concepts, which are hidden not only in earlier phases of development of international criminal law, but also in the domestic laws of various states. Elies van Sliedregt has received the Modderman Prize for criminal law 2006 for her dissertation The Criminal Responsibility of Individuals for Violations of International Humanitarian Law. This prestigious biennial prize is awarded by the Modderman foundation.

In this book, Elies van Sliedregt examines the concept of individual criminal responsibility for violations of international humanitarian law, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Such crimes are very rarely committed by single individuals, but mostly by organizations or groups of cooperating persons. For a just determination of their guilt and responsibility, a fair assessment of the mutual relationships and cooperation forms of those individuals is indispensable. This book provides the framework for that assessment. It gives guidance to practitioners and scholars on how to understand and to apply international criminal law concepts such as 'common purpose', 'superior responsibility', 'duress' and the 'defence of superior orders'. It does so by bringing to light the roots of those concepts, which are hidden not only in earlier phases of development of international criminal law, but also in the domestic laws of various states. Elies van Sliedregt has received the Modderman Prize for criminal law 2006 for her dissertation The Criminal Responsibility of Individuals for Violations of International Humanitarian Law. This prestigious biennial prize is awarded by the Modderman foundation.

What rules of international law make the individual, even a Head of State, responsible for perpetrating serious human rights violations, such as war crimes, torture or genocide? This question is becoming more critical in our increasingly interdependent world, and the recent invasion of Kuwait and the brutalization of its people by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has heated up the debate even further. The author argues that a new rule of international law stipulating individual responsibility for all serious human rights violations is currently emerging. To show how this is coming about, he explores relevant norms in classic laws of war, international humanitarian law and modern international human rights law and surveys patterns in their implementation. He then takes account of codification efforts of the International Law Commission, the changing position of the individual in international law, and other important developments in the context of general international law as an evolving system.

This book examines the international humanitarian law rules and their application by the ad hoc tribunals with regard to the substantive laws of the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR).

Collective Responsibility and Accountability under International Law examines the extent to which the basic principle of individual responsibility accommodates liability for the acts of others. It examines the debates and legal developments surrounding collective responsibility under international law. The philosophical debates on collective responsibility provide an introduction to the examination of whether collective responsibility is ever appropriate or even lawful under international law. As the international criminal justice project begins to flourish, it is of paramount importance that the extent of the potential liability of individuals for the acts of others is clarified and held up to rigorous scrutiny. It is of equal importance that there is a clear understanding of whether the means of responding to ongoing violations of international humanitarian law can include measures based on collective responsibility. Global events have created an impetus for the parameters of responsibility to be clearly defined. The rise of non-State actors within the international legal regime raises complex questions surrounding their status, power and the means for holding them accountable.

ŠThis comprehensive collection addresses an overlooked area: war crimes and the conduct of hostilities. It uplifts aspects that are particularly under-appreciated, including cultural property, fact-finding, arms transfer, chemical weapons, sexual viole

Essay from the year 1996 in the subject Law - European and International Law, Intellectual Properties, grade: 68/100 P., Lancaster University (Law Department), course: LLM 205: International Law, language: English, abstract: This essay describes the scope of offences set forth in Arts. 2-5 of the Yugoslavia Statute and the development of penalisation of international humanitarian law. It further argues that customary international law contains a major part of the modern criminalisation of international humanitarian law.