Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'International criminal law'

This thesis critically examines the origins and development of international criminal lave to identify the defining features of this emerging legal tradition. It critically evaluates the experimental approach taken in Article 21 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which attempts to codify an untested normative super-structure to guide this legal tradition.
International criminal law is a hybrid tradition which seeks legitimacy and answers to difficult questions by drawing on other established legal traditions. Its development at the confluence of public international law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law and national criminal laws has resulted in gaps in difficult cases with no clear answers. These lacunae have been filled by recourse to judicial discretion, exercised consistent with Patrick Glenn's theory of transnational common laws, and by privileging one of the competing aims of international criminal law: enhancing humanitarian protection versus maximizing fairness to the accused.

The objective of this study is to offer a different way of seeing and understanding defences in international criminal law. By contrast to the standard texts on defences which identify what the law is - and in some few cases to suggest what it should be - this work seeks to understand why the law is the way it is, and in doing so, reveal the gender biases that international criminal law defences conceal. International criminal law evolved out of a need to respond to gross wrongdoings that amounted to international offences perpetrated during conflict. The paradox is that conflict is about the 'legalised' use of violence by men and it is through this process that all too often women, subsumed within the category of civilians, become the direct and indirect victims of that violence. From its inception international criminal law has primarily addressed wrongs committed in conflict - but as perceived and defined by men. Moreover, because war crimes trials have always been about selective narratives that are controlled by the most powerful, women's voices have consistently been excluded. This study questions whether, as with offences, defences have evolved in such a way as to prefer the interests of the male soldier over the civilian and thereby foster a gendered view of defences in international criminal law. This work has been guided by some of the more recent theoretical debates that have engaged the scholarly community on the domestic level that challenges the traditional explanations of defences and that exposes the law to be fundamentally incoherent and characterised by bias. It offers an alternative perspective on defences in international criminal law that seeks to understand the interests that legal defences serve to protect. This thesis concludes that defences play a vital function in regulating relations between individuals and between the state and citizens by articulating the responsibilities of the different participants in a social grouping. Defences provide a powerful means through which the law delineates a society's moral boundaries and an effective mechanism through which specific normative values of liberal states are conveyed. The overriding objective of this study is to emphasise the need to take greater account of the inherent gender bias that continues to characterise the law in the process of judging the defendant who is charged with serious violations of international law perpetrated in a conflict.

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a study of a much neglected concept in international law, namely the criminal offence. The work consists of four parts which incorporate ten chapters. Part I introduces the study by examining the way in which the concept of criminal offence has developed through the various recognised sources of international law. The difficulties involved in distinguishing the criminal offence from other unlawful acts in international law, as well as the problem of defining the concept, are issues which are addressed in Part II, Part III examines seventeen classified criminal offences and practices in international law in order to determine the juridical indicia of the concept. Finally, Part IV addresses the legal consequences engendered by the concept of criminal offence, namely international criminal responsibility. Individual as well as State criminal responsibility in international law are discussed, particularly, in the light of the substantial contributions made by the International Law Commission in this field.

Only two Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have ratified the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute, and this number is unlikely to change dramatically in the near future. This research thus considers how international criminal justice (ICrimJ) can be advanced through the regionalisation of international criminal law (ICL), whilst also serving the interests of ASEAN Member States. The theoretical appeal, practical viability, and political acceptability of regional ICrimJ mechanisms are accordingly examined. Given that the establishment of the ICC has challenged the absolute sovereignty of States over the prosecution of international crimes, regional initiatives have added political allure as they not only better reflect local legal norms and political considerations, but also place the selection of ‘regional crimes’ and enforcement measures primarily in the hands of regional countries. In recognition of the 'ASEAN way' of making decisions, regional initiatives to further ICrimJ in Southeast Asia should be implemented gradually and driven internally through consultation and consensus. Moreover, to achieve the overarching ASEAN goal of maintaining regional peace and security, the modalities and practical effects of ICrimJ may require greater emphasis on deterrence and reconciliation, instead of punishment. The prospect and efficacy of a regional ICrimJ mechanism however also depends, inter alia, on the availability of institutional infrastructure and resources, and will understandably differ between regions. Nevertheless, some general conclusions about the value and attractiveness of a regional approach to ICrimJ can be drawn. Despite variations on what may constitute justice in different geographic areas, these generalisations are useful because they reveal the incentives and favourable conditions for efforts at the regional level. The research therefore proffers a basic framework to assess the costs and benefits of regional solutions against domestic or international methods of enforcing ICL, and determine which may best serve ICrimJ in each unique situation and circumstance.

This thesis develops a theoretical account of the basis and justification for the doctrine of Joint Criminal Enterptise in international criminal law by examining principles governing the ascription of criminal responsibility in English and German criminal law. The first part consists of a comprehensive review of the development of the JCE doctrine, including its historical antecedents, its initial formulation by the ICTY, its subsequent explication by tribunals and academics, and recent alternatives doctrines proposed by the ICC and by commentators. It identifies the main loopholes and contradictions in the construction of these theories, and presents factual scenarios for which these theories, particularly JCE, either have no answers, or problematic ones. The second part examines whether any of the variants of JCE can be justified as principal responsibility. It first identifies elements that distinguish international crimes from their domestic counterparts, and which are pertinent in developing an account of criminal responsibility for international crimes. It also examines the concept of perpetration responsibility in English and German criminal law and theory. It then combines the insights gleaned from these analyses to conclude that only JCE I can be appropriately considered as perpetrator responsibility and proposes a modified version of the doctrine of Organisationsherrschaft in German criminal law as a more accurate characterisation of the role and function of high level participants in mass atrocity. The final part focuses on the concept of accomplice responsibility in German and English criminal law and doctrine to address whether JCE II and JCE III can be justified as modes of secondary criminal responsibility. It concludes that JCE II and JCE III can be retained as distinct modes of accomplice liability using expressive and risk justifications, provided their operation is limited in ways that correspond to principles of secondary responsibility in domestic jurisdictions.

International criminal courts do not operate to the exclusion of national legal orders, but co-exist with them. The present thesis provides an in-depth analysis of the above relationship. By examining the concepts of primacy and complementarity on the basis of which the ad hoc international criminal Tribunals and the permanent International Criminal Court seize jurisdiction, the foundations of the interface are explored. As effectiveness is a key concept to international criminal justice, the relationship between international criminal courts and national legal systems is tested, by examining the co-operation regimes envisaged in the Statutes of both the Tribunals and the ICC, as well as the problems that arise in practice. Moreover, the way the UN Security Council affects State interplay with international criminal justice institutions is crucial for a holistic understanding of the limitations of the interaction. The final part of the thesis focuses on national incorporation efforts and provides a detailed analysis of implementing legislation of a number of key States with a view to discerning some common approaches and highlighting problem areas. The present thesis argues that despite the different constitutional bases of the Tribunals and the ICC, similar questions of interface with national courts arise and the challenges presented could be better tackled by aiming for a "functional or workable interaction". Overall, the originality of this thesis lies in its analytical approach. By scrutinising a number of crucial aspects of the relationship between international criminal courts and national legal orders an overview of the research question posed is achieved. Moreover, the examination of the legal principles and their practical application is complemented by a comprehensive discussion of national implementing legislation which has not previously been attempted in a similar manner. [Files associated with the accompanying CD-ROM (print version) are available on request to subject librarian.]

Thesis (LLD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
Includes bibliography
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The existential crisis of the international regime of criminal law is arguably a thing of the past. This is confirmed through a growing body of positive law and the existence of various international criminal courts, notably the permanent International Criminal Court which has been in operation since 2002. Moreover, it is significant that international criminal law (“ICL”) is developing towards increased domestic enforcement, in particular as a result of the complementarity regime envisioned by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. States have generally been receptive and cooperative towards international criminal norms as well as the structures of international criminal justice. As a result international criminal laws are increasingly being transformed into national law and enforced by states on the domestic level. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the abovementioned developments, the characteristics of ICL and certain key concepts. In lieu of the upward trajectory of ICL’s development, the thesis aims to determine whether ICL exerts an influence which holds ‘transformative value’. Chapter 3 unpacks this concept by delineating the different meanings afforded to transformation and identifying the reticent characteristics of transformative change, especially the underlying importance of values during processes of transformation. Transformative value is conceptualised broadly as the product and potential of the type of change that holds some utility for the civitas maxima (or the community of mankind). In Part II, ICL’s transformative value is investigated from a historical and global perspective with emphasis on the purposes, values and politics of international criminal justice. Chapter 4 focuses on the Nuremberg IMT and the trial of Adolf Eichmann. It is submitted that these trials produced a paradigm shift that represents the transformative foundation of modern ICL. Chapter 5 investigates the purposes and aspirations of modern ICL with reference to its underlying assumptions as well as its objectives, the latter which may be found in positive law and the jurisprudence of international criminal courts. The research suggests that ICL is disposed towards objectives which are unique in comparison to those of domestic criminal law. While it cannot be denied that punishment under ICL is predominantly a backward-looking exercise in the tradition of domestic criminal law retributivism, ICL is somewhat removed from this paradigm due to its purpose- and value-driven nature. ICL is also expressive, normative and forward-looking in various respects. Individual criminal liability is however not universally accepted as an appropriate response to collective violence. This is partly a result of ICL’s endemic political dependency. Chapter 6 addresses the impact of politics on ICL’s transformative value. ICL is closely associated with liberal-legalist ideals which essentially promote the interests of individuals. Although it constitutes an important element of ICL’s transformative value, this political influence exposes ICL to criticism and may exert a disruptive influence on its transformative mandate. In this latter respect it is noted that ICL remains somewhat controversial and subject to the general limitations of the decentralised and state-dominated international legal system. In Part III, ICL’s transformative value is investigated using South Africa as a case study, with particular reference to its transitional- and post-transitional periods. Chapter 7 provides a domestic perspective of ICL’s transformative value by investigating the interactions of ICL and the South African legal system, particularly the value of the transformation of ICL into national law. In this regard the impact of Constitutional provisions and national legislation pertaining to ICL are considered, as well as a number of cases related to matters of international criminal justice. It is argued that international criminal norms may promote human values over state authority and political interests in the domestic context. Domestic courts may serve as ‘engine rooms’ for transformative change through more effective enforcement of those international criminal norms that have been ‘transformed’ into national law through implementation legislation. The permeation of international criminal norms into the domestic sphere represents a foray of universal values into an area traditionally dominated by sovereign might and holds potential for promoting the interests of individuals as well as for the institutionalisation of human rights. Yet, as illustrated by the current rift between the ICC and the African Union, international and regional political affiliations may influence the ability of a state to meet its obligations towards international criminal justice. In Part IV (Chapter 8), it is submitted that ICL is historically and ontologically aimed at change that is both backward-looking (repressive) and forward-looking (normative) as well as beneficial in a communitarian sense. ICL’s transformative value derives from the value-and purpose-driven nature of international criminal norms, the political nature of international criminal justice and also from the interaction between international law and domestic legal systems. ICL may be viewed as an authoritative expression of the norms and values of the international community. As such, ICL and its institutions may be viewed not only as a means of punishing the perpetrators of international crime, but also as part of the spearhead towards a desired alternative to the historical and present reality characterised by injustices which have gone unabated under the system of traditional Westphalian sovereignty. As egregious forms of the aforementioned injustices, macro criminality and impunity undermine the protection of internationally recognised individual rights. ICL seeks to remedy this through impacting on those individuals that have not yet acceded to the emergent universal consciousness of the majority in the international community. It is further argued that ICL’s transformative impact is not confined to the “hard” impact of the application of substantive ICL in international and domestic courts. The international criminal justice system as a whole also produces a normative impact through a purpose-driven association with international values and certain political preferences. This thesis offers a new way of thinking about the value, potential and limitations of the ICL regime, as well as the role of politics in international criminal justice.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die eksistensiële krisis van die internasionale strafregbestel is stellig iets van die verlede. Dít word bevestig deur die toenemende hoeveelheid positieweregsmateriaal en die bestaan van verskeie internasionale strafhowe, in die besonder die permanente Internasionale Strafhof wat sedert 2002 in werking is. Daarbenewens is dit beduidend dat internasionale strafreg (hierna ‘ISR’) na binnelandse toepassing begin verskuif, bepaald as gevolg van die komplementariteitsregime wat die Rome Statuut van die Internasionale Strafhof beoog. State is oor die algemeen ontvanklik vir, en tegemoetkomend jeens, internasionale strafnorme sowel as die strukture van internasionale strafregspleging. Gevolglik word internasionale strafwette al hoe meer tot in nasionale wette getransformeer en binnelands deur state toegepas. Hoofstuk 2 bied ’n oorsig van bogenoemde ontwikkelings, die kenmerke van ISR en bepaalde kernbegrippe. In die lig van die opwaartse ontwikkelingstrajek van ISR, het dié tesis ten doel om te bepaal of die invloed wat ISR uitoefen, oor ‘transformasiewaarde’ beskik. Hoofstuk 3 ondersoek hierdie begrip deur die verskillende betekenisse van transformasie uiteen te sit en die versweë kenmerke van transformerende verandering, veral die onderliggende belang van waardes in die transformasieproses, te bepaal. Transformasiewaarde word in die breë verstaan as die produk en potensiaal van die soort verandering wat een of ander nut het vir die civitas maxima (of die gemeenskap van die mensdom). In deel II word die transformasiewaarde van ISR uit ’n historiese en internasionale hoek ondersoek, met die klem op die doel, waardes en politiek van internasionale strafregspleging. Hoofstuk 4 konsentreer op die Neurenberg- internasionale militêre tribunaal en die verhoor van Adolf Eichmann. Daar word aangevoer dat hierdie verhore ’n paradigmaverskuiwing teweeggebring het wat die transformerende grondslag van moderne ISR gelê het. Hoofstuk 5 verken die doelwitte en aspirasies van moderne ISR aan die hand van die onderliggende aannames en oogmerke daarvan. Laasgenoemde is te vinde in die positiewe reg en regsleer van internasionale strafhowe. Die navorsing doen aan die hand dat die oogmerke van ISR uniek is in vergelyking met dié van binnelandse strafreg. Hoewel straf ingevolge ISR onteenseglik ’n hoofsaaklik terugblikkende oefening in die vergeldingstradisie van nasionale strafreg is, is ISR tog ietwat verwyderd van hierdie paradigma vanweë die doel- en waardegedrewe aard daarvan. ISR is in baie opsigte ook ekspressief, normatief en toekomsgerig. Individuele strafregtelike aanspreeklikheid word egter nie allerweë as ’n toepaslike reaksie op kollektiewe geweld aanvaar nie. Dít is deels ’n gevolg van die endemiese politieke afhanklikheid van ISR. Hoofstuk 6 handel derhalwe oor die impak van politiek op die transformasiewaarde van ISR. ISR hou ten nouste verband met liberaal-legalistiese ideale wat in wese individue se belange bevorder. Hoewel dit ’n belangrike element van die ISR-transformasiewaarde uitmaak, stel hierdie politieke invloed ISR ook bloot aan kritiek, en kan dit ’n ontwrigtende uitwerking op die transformasiemandaat daarvan hê. In dié verband word daarop gelet dat ISR ietwat omstrede bly, sowel as onderworpe aan die algemene beperkinge van die gedesentraliseerde en staatsoorheerste internasionale regstelsel. In deel III word die transformasiewaarde van ISR aan die hand van Suid-Afrika as gevallestudie ondersoek, met bepaalde verwysing na die oorgangs- en na-oorgangstydperke van die land. Hoofstuk 7 bied ’n binnelandse beskouing van die transformasiewaarde van ISR deur ondersoek in te stel na die wisselwerking tussen ISR en die Suid-Afrikaanse regstelsel, veral die waarde van die transformasie van ISR tot in die nasionale reg. In hierdie verband word daar besin oor die impak van grondwetlike bepalings en nasionale wetgewing met betrekking tot ISR, sowel as ’n aantal hofsake in verband met aangeleenthede van internasionale strafregspleging. Daar word aangevoer dat internasionale strafnorme in binnelandse verband straks mensewaardes bo staatsgesag en politieke belange bevorder. Binnelandse howe dien moontlik as ‘enjinkamers’ vir transformerende verandering, deur daardie internasionale strafnorme wat deur inwerkingstellingswetgewing tot in die nasionale reg ‘getransformeer’ is, doeltreffender toe te pas. Die deurdringing van internasionale strafnorme tot in die binnelandse sfeer stel ’n verskeidenheid universele waardes bekend op ’n gebied wat tradisioneel deur soewereine mag oorheers is, en hou potensiaal in vir die bevordering van individuele belange sowel as vir die institusionalisering van menseregte. Soos die huidige skeuring tussen die Internasionale Strafhof en die Afrika-unie egter toon, kan internasionale en streek- politieke bande ’n invloed hê op ’n staat se vermoë om sy verpligtinge teenoor internasionale strafregspleging na te kom. In deel IV (hoofstuk 8) word aangevoer dat ISR histories en ontologies afgestem is op terugblikkende (onderdrukkende) én toekomsgerigte (normatiewe) verandering, sowel as verandering wat een of ander gemeenskapsvoordeel inhou. Die transformasiewaarde van ISR spruit uit die waarde- en doelgedrewe aard van internasionale strafnorme, die politieke aard van internasionale strafregspleging, sowel as die wisselwerking tussen internasionale reg en binnelandse regstelsels. ISR kan as ’n gesaghebbende openbaring van die internasionale gemeenskap se norme en waardes beskou word. As sodanig, is ISR en die instellings daarvan nie net ’n middel om die plegers van internasionale misdaad te straf nie, maar ook deel van die strewe na ’n wenslike alternatief vir die historiese én huidige realiteit, wat gekenmerk word deur onregte wat ongebreideld onder die stelsel van tradisionele Wesfaalse soewereiniteit voortduur. Makrokriminaliteit en strafloosheid, synde uiterste vorme van voormelde onregte, ondermyn die beskerming van internasionaal erkende individuele regte. ISR beoog om dít reg te stel deur ’n invloed uit te oefen op daardie individue wat nóg nie die ontluikende universele bewustheid van die meerderheid in die internasionale gemeenskap openbaar nie. Daar word voorts betoog dat die transformerende impak van ISR nie tot die ‘harde’ impak van die toepassing van substantiewe ISR in internasionale en binnelandse howe beperk is nie. Die stelsel van internasionale strafregspleging in die geheel het ook ’n normatiewe impak deur middel van ’n doelgedrewe verbondenheid aan internasionale waardes en bepaalde politieke voorkeure. Hierdie tesis bied ’n nuwe denkwyse oor die waarde, potensiaal en beperkings van die ISR-bestel, sowel as die rol van politiek in internasionale strafregspleging.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin for financial support
Stellenbosch University for financial support

This thesis is concerned with the ways in which international law regulates state and individual complicity. Complicity is a derivative form of responsibility that links an accomplice to wrongdoing by a principal actor. Whenever complicity is prohibited, certain questions arise about the scope and structure of the complicity rule. To answer these questions, this thesis proposes an analytical framework in which complicity rules may be assessed, and defends a normative claim as to their optimal structure. This framework and normative claim anchor the thesis’ analysis of complicity in international law. The thesis shows that international criminal law regulates individual complicity in a comprehensive way, using the doctrines of instigation and aiding and abetting to inculpate complicit participants in international crimes. These doctrines are marked by the breadth of the complicit conduct prohibited, a standard of knowledge in the fault required of the accomplice, and an underused nexus requirement between the accomplice’s acts and the principal’s wrong. In contrast, international law’s regulation of state complicity was historically marked by an absence of complicity rules. In respect of state complicity in the wrongdoing of another state, international law now imposes both specific and general complicity obligations, the latter prohibiting states from aiding or assisting another state in the commission of any internationally wrongful act. In respect of the ways that states participate in harms caused by non-state actors, the traditional normative structure of international law, which imposed obligations only on states, foreclosed the possibility of regulating the state’s participation as a form of complicity. As that traditional normative structure has evolved, so the possibility of holding states responsible for complicity in the wrongdoing of non-state actors has emerged. More and more, both the wrongs that international actors commit, and the wrongs they help or encourage others to commit, matter.

On 17 July 1998, a total of 120 States, including Malawi, voted for the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The ermanent ICC became operational on 1 July 2002. The ICC has jurisdiction over the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. These crimes are the most serious crimes of international concern. The 
ICC operates under the principle of complementarity, which entails that the ICC will only assume jurisdiction over these core crimes in the event that a State Party is unwilling and unable genuinely to carry out the investigation and prosecution. States Parties have, therefore, the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute these crimes. The States 
Parties must therefore establish jurisdiction to conduct investigations and prosecution of these core crimes. It is from that background, coupled with the historical evolution and development of international criminal law, with regard to individual criminal responsibility, that this paper argues for the implementation of the Rome Statute in Malawi, through 
domestic legislation.The paper thus argues that only through domestic legislation can the purports of the Rome Statute be achieved and fulfilled by Malawi.

Gender justice is an important component of contemporary international criminal law. Feminist scholars and practitioners have been instrumental in advancing gender law reform within international criminal law and a key outcome has been the prosecution of conflict related sexual violence, in particular through the work of the Ad Hoc Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia, as well as analysis of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. This thesis argues that, despite these important gains with respect to gender justice in international criminal law, there has been inadequate attention to women as potential perpetrators, defendants, and suspects of international crimes. In addressing the absence of female defendants from prosecution under international criminal law, I argue that expectations with regard to gender are reproduced in international criminal law without sufficient understanding of the diversity of gender as a power relation reproduced intersectionally with other power relations. Following Engle's work on the hypervisibility of women as victims of sexual violence, the thesis analyses female defendants in legal and cultural contexts to examine female violence in armed conflict, beyond gendered meanings. Furthermore, through drawing on feminist approaches from MacKinnon to Kapur, to examine constructions of gender, sexuality, race and class, within law, the thesis challenges narrow assumptions with respect to gender in armed conflict that collapse into stereotypes of raced victimhood and sexual vulnerability. Gender is understood, not as a form of identity, but as a power arrangement that is implicated in racial, ethnic, classist, and socio-economic understandings of conflict and of culture. Thus, enhanced understanding of the complexity of gender in armed conflict is advocated through the study of female defendants. The thesis highlights representations of women accused of international crimes in the ICTY, ICTR, and the ECCC, and identifies tensions between international and domestic dialogues as a result. The study of the ICTY demonstrates the friction between the pursuit of gender justice and the limited gendered narratives women are represented through in depictions of the conflict in the Former Yugoslavia. Similarly, in the ICTR the thesis demonstrates a racialised preoccupation with violence that further reproduces gender, minus its complex relation with race stereotypes. In the study of the ECCC the absence of female defendants is analysed via tensions between local and international perceptions of political leadership, law, and gender. This is not a study of the stories of individual female defendants; rather the research explores how understandings of gender, international law, and armed conflict shift when female defendants are positioned as the focus of analysis.

Doctor Legum - LLD
This contribution looks at the relevance of conspiracy in international criminal law. It establishes that conspiracy was introduced into international criminal law for purposes of prevention and to combat the collective nature of participation in commission of international crimes. Its use as a tool of accountability has, however, been affected by conflicting conceptual perceptions of conspiracy from common law and civil law countries. This conflict is displayed in the decisions on conspiracy by the international criminal tribunals, and finally culminates into the exclusion of punishment of conspiracy in the Rome Statute. It is questionable whether this latest development on the law of conspiracy was a prudent decision. While the function of conspiracy as a mode of liability is satisfactorily covered by the modes of participation in the Rome Statute, its function as a purely inchoate crime used to punish incomplete crimes is missing. This study creates a case for inclusion in the Rome Statute, punishment of conspiracies involving international crimes that do not extend beyond the conceptual stage, to reinforce the Statute’s purpose of prevention. This conspiracy should reflect the characteristics of conspiracy acceptable under both common law and civil law systems. This means excluding the far reaching and often problematic characteristics exemplified in the common law conspiracy.

Within the first decade of the ICC‟s existence, its case docket was composed of cases originating from Africa only. Relations between the African governments represented by the AU quickly deteriorated. The AU accuses the ICC of bias and unfair targeting of Africa. After the indictment of heads of states that include Omar Al Bashir of Sudan, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and the late Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, the AU passed several resolutions where it reiterated its commitment to the rule of law and to combating impunity. The AU, however, instructed member states to cease all cooperation with the ICC. African states that are ICC members are now faced with conflicting obligations as a result of the AU resolutions. Moreover, the AU resolutions raise the spectre of a legitimacy crisis for the AU and a conflict between articles 27(2) and 98(1) of the Rome Statute. Based mostly on desk research coupled with my experience working on human rights and access to justice programmes in Sudan, South Sudan, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe, this thesis considers the possibility that the ICC is suffering from a legitimacy crisis as a result of the fall out and the issues of unfair selectivity that are raised by the AU. Employing the Third World Approaches to International Law as an analytical framework, the study attempts to reconcile the apparent contradictions in the new outlook and rhetoric of the AU pursuant to its Constitutive Act and the instruction to member states to withdraw cooperation with the ICC. The thesis also proposes practical ways to resolve the conflicting obligations caused by the AU resolutions and by operation of customary international law immunity of high ranking state officials referred to the ICC by way of a Security Council resolution. The current situation gives the ICC the appearance of a weak institution that is only good for low hanging fruit, which has a negative effect on the legitimacy of the ICC.

The codifying of international humanitarian law (IHL) that began in the mid-nineteenth century has not diminished the importance of customary international humanitarian law (CIHL), at least, in filling the gaps between the needs of the victims of armed conflicts and the inadequacies of conventional law. This is fully reflected in the case-law of international criminal tribunals (ICTs) where customary law has been extensively applied in areas that are not sufficiently regulated by treaty provisions or where the parties to armed conflicts were not parties to similar treaties. This study mainly focuses on the contributions of the judicial decisions of the ICTs to the current state of CIHL. It examines how the decisions have reaffirmed certain rules of CIHL or, when applicable, how they have influenced the subsequent development of CIHL. It also seeks to analytically study the rules of IHL identified as customary in the decisions of ICTs. In the course of research, the customary definition of non-international armed conflicts (NIACs), tests for determining internationalized armed conflicts, customary content of war crimes, and their application to NIACs are discussed in greater details. It is argued that the ICTs contribute to customary rules by way of reaffirmation and development. They develop CIHL through judicial interpretation or practical application of existing laws to new cases. CIHL has the advantages of flexibility in formation and universality in application. The case-law of ICTs, however, clearly reveals that the prime advantage of CIHL is its constituent elements and the prerogative that the ICTs can exercise in identifying customary rules. The ICTs deliberately choose combinations of the elements of opinio juris and State practice to draw the rules that they consider to be suitable for protecting the victims of armed conflicts. The methodology has been occasionally criticized to be ultra vires law-making. This research shows that the methodology is still definable in the positivist views to international law-making, though they have managed to develop CIHL beyond its traditional boundaries to cover areas of IHL, such as NIACs where States have been traditionally reluctant to develop.

This thesis is concerned with ‘international criminal law’. It examines the historical development of this body of law. This thesis also examines the record of enforcement of international criminal law. Historically the enforcement of international criminal law has primarily been a matter for states. States possess the capacity and lawful means of coercion necessary to enforce the criminal law. On occasions states have acted in concert with other states to enforce international criminal law by means of international criminal tribunals.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
O trabalho consiste na análise do processo de internacionalização dos Direitos Humanos com base no Direito Internacional Penal. Partindo de abordagens interdisciplinares na criação do Tribunal Penal Internacional, é feita uma leitura jurídico-penal do Estatuto de Roma a partir da aproximação dos conceitos oriundos do Common Law e do Civil Law em busca de um maior aprimoramento na construção de uma Parte Geral do Direito Internacional Penal. Assim, pretende-se contribuir para uma maior preocupação no tocante à responsabilização penal no plano internacional, sempre com o foco voltado para o incremento da proteção internacional dos Direitos Humanos.
The work analyses the process of internationalization of the Human Rights based upon International criminal law. Beginning with an interdisciplinary approach on the creation of the International Criminal Court, the Roman Statute is analyzed through a criminal law reading, that acknowledges an approach between Common Law and Civil Law traditional concepts. Therefore, the work seeks to contribute to an improvement on criminal law enforcement on the international level, always focusing on assuring the international protection of the Human Rights.

This thesis is concerned with the analysis of the war crime of attacking peacekeeping missions under international humanitarian law and international criminal law. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court criminalises “(…) intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, as long as they are entitled to the protection given to civilians or civilian objects under the international law of armed conflict”. However, the exact scope of application of this war crime is unclear and controversial due to the overlap of three different fields of international law: international criminal law, international humanitarian law and United Nations law. These distinct bodies of law have their own principles, objectives and logic and might not necessarily be in perfect harmony with each other at this particular point. Major complexities linked to it include the definition of a peacekeeping mission in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, the status of peacekeeping personnel and objects under international humanitarian law, and the scope of peacekeepers’ right to self-defence. The central research question that this thesis addresses is about the compatibility of this war crime with the system of international law. This is answered in the affirmative. The contribution to knowledge that this thesis offers relates to critical studies on international criminal law, international humanitarian law and the United Nations system. The thesis clarifies the scope of application of the war crime of attacking personnel and objects involved in a peacekeeping mission in accordance with the United Nations Charter. This is the first comprehensive analysis of the overlap of legal regimes with respect to this war crime, which can assist courts in application of the rules relating to the protection of peacekeeping missions.

The various forms and manifestations of international and transnational criminality require a comprehensive approach by the international community from which effective strategies of prevention, control, and suppression can follow. This thesis argues that the establishment of an ICC in the 1990s, especially due to the end of the Cold War and recent wars in the Persian Gulf and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, would provide an effective means of dealing with international and transnational criminality, and, without deflecting domestic concentration on law enforcement, would be a complementary and incremental effort, which would enhance overall criminal justice enforcement. This study analyzes past efforts to establish an ICC, discusses arguments for and against the creation of an ICC, and addresses several questions concerning the implementation of the court, including questions related to state sovereignty and jurisdictional bases for an ICC, crimes within the court's jurisdiction, applicable substantive and procedural law, and practical concerns relating to the court's structure, composition, and facilities. Although an ICC admittedly would not be a perfect solution to problems of international criminality, the thesis advances the view that it must not be approached with a negative attitude, but rather with a view towards making more effective the benefits such a court would provide.

This dissertation in four essays critically examines the emergence of international criminal courts: their international political underpinnings, context, and the impact of their political production in relation to liberal legalism, liberal political theory, and history. The essays conceive of international criminal legal bodies both as political projects at their inception and as institutions that deny their own political provenance. The work is primarily one of political theory at the intersection of history, international relations, international criminal law, and the politics of memory. The first essay questions Nuremberg's legacy on the United States' exceptionalist view of international law and its deviant practice, while the second essay explores the relationship between exploding inequality and the triumph of the human rights movement as well as the costs of international prosecutions to the detriment of transformative politics. The third essay explores the relationship between history and international criminal courts, as well as the limits of their engagement, while the fourth examines the idea of legalism - rule following as a moral ethos - in the context of real political trials.

This dissertation aims to answer the question: does the international criminal law framework provide adequate protection to the African girl child soldier? The motivation for the choice of this question came about in my final year of LLB. I conducted research on crimes against humanity committed by Boko Haram, and found a lot of research had been conducted on the use of children in war. I became particularly interested in the use of girl child soldiers because of the disparity between them and their male counterparts - how they were used during conflicts and the definitions of child soldier in international statutes. The constant reference in international treaties of child soldiers as those who take part in 'direct hostilities', I felt excluded girl child soldiers from protection as girl child soldiers are often used as base-camp soldiers, spies and often times sexually, physically and emotionally abused.

Thesis (LLM)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The object of the thesis is to examine the content and status of the double criminality principle in international extradition law. The double criminality principle says a fugitive c annat be extradited unless the conduct for which his extradition is sought is criminal in both the requesting state and the requested state. This thesis is based on a study of sources of international law and domestic law and ideas presented in legal literature. The double criminality principle has developed over several centuries and it has been embraced by most states in one form or the other. The principle serves several purposes, of which the most dominant is the notion of state sovereignty. States apply the double criminality principle differently due to its multiple rationale. Legal literature has distinguished two main methods of interpretation, called interpretation in abstracto and in concreto. Whereas the in abstracto method focuses on the theoretical punishability of the conduct, the in concreto method attaches importance to all factual, personal and legal aspects. There are also ways of interpretation that are a combination of these two methods. Most states can be classified into one of the two main groups of interpretation, but in general most states have adopted a specific method of interpretation that is unique to each particular state. There is thus no uniform method of interpretation in international extradition law. This thesis attempts to determine whether the double criminality principle has become a rule of customary international law. Though most instruments on international or domestic extradition law include the double criminality principle, the strong disagreement among legal scholars as to the legal status of the principle leads to the conclusion that the double criminality principle is not a rule of international law today. This thesis contains an examination of whether the principle of double criminality can be classified as an international human rights norm. Though the principle of double criminality has striking similarities with human rights as it partly aims at protecting individuals facing extradition, there are also a number of aspects that distinguish the principle from traditional human rights. This is partly attributable to the fact that international extradition law is not the arena where general international human rights have developed. It is therefore concluded that the double criminality principle does not form part of international human rights law.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die oogmerk van hierdie tesis is om die inhoud en status van die beginsel van dubbelkriminaliteit in internasionale uitleweringsreg te ondersoek. Hierdie beginsel behels dat die handeling ten opsigte waarvan die uitlewering versoek is, misdade in beide die staat wat uitlewering versoek as die staat waarvan uitlewering versoek word, is. Die metode wat hierdie tesis onderlê is 'n literatuurstudie van bronne in die internasionale en nasionale reg. Die dubbelkriminaliteitsbeginsel het oor etlike eeue ontwikkel. Dit word gevind in die meeste regstelsels. Die beginsel dien verskeie oogmerke, waarvan staatsoewereiniteit sekerlik die belangrikste is. State pas die beginselop verskillende maniere toe weens die verskeie bestaansredes vir die beginsel. Regsliteratuur tref 'n onderskeid tussen twee belangrike metodes van interpretasie, naamlik die in abstracto en in concreto benaderings. Terwyl die in abstracto metode op die teoretiese strafbaarheid van die handeling fokus, plaas die in concreto benadering klem op die feitelike, persoonlike en konkrete regsaspekte. Daar is kombinasies van hierdie metodes. Meeste state kan geklassifiseer word volgens die twee benaderings, maar tog pas state hierdie benaderings by hul besondere behoeftes aan. Daar is dus geen uniforme metode van interpretasie in internasionale uitleweringsreg nie. Hierdie tesis poog om te bepaal of die dubbelkriminaliteitsbeginsel 'n reël van gemeenregtelike internasionale reg geword het. Alhoewel meeste wetgewing op die terrein van internasionale en nasionale uitleweringsreg die beginsel van dubbelkriminalitiet insluit, is daar sterk meningsverskilonder regsgeleerdes tov die status van die beinsel. Die gevolgtrekking is dat die beginsel nie 'n algemene reël van die internasionale reg is nie. Ten slotte word daar gekyk of die dubbelkriminaliteitsbeginsel as 'n beginsel van internasionale menseregte geklassifiseer kan word. Alhoewel die beginsel ooreemste met menseregtenorme toon - veral die beskerming van die individu in uitleweringsaangeleenthede - is daar 'n aantal aspekte wat d it van menseregte 0 nderskei. I nternasionale uitleweringsreg en internasionale menseregte deel nie dieselfde ontwikkelingsgeskiedenis nie. Die gevolgtrekking is dus dat die dubbelkriminaliteitsbeginsel nie deel vorm van internasionale menseregte nie.

International human rights laws are grossly violated by the hudud ordinances, with their extremely cruel punishments, including stoning for adultery, beheading for apostasy, and amputation for theft. Pakistan, Sudan, Brunei Darussalam and Saudi Arabia, for example, follow the doctrines of the four main Sunni schools of jurisprudence and enforce hudud ordinances, thereby violating some of the core international human rights law instruments to which they are State Parties. Orthodox Muslims generally defend the hudud ordinances, claiming that they are divine and immutable. This study refutes the aforementioned claim and demonstrates that it is legitimate and possible to reform hudud punishments to reconcile them with international human rights law. The thesis differentiates between Shariah and Islamic law. It argues that Shariah refers to the divine rulings recorded in the Qur'an and correct Sunnah, while Islamic law is not fully divine, for it includes also such prescriptions that have been developed by the human effort of Islamic jurists. The thesis demonstrates that reformation is an Islamic concept that requires that Muslims read the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah in the context of their own time and environment. It is postulated, therefore, that the rulings of Islamic law need to be examined in the light of the Qur'an, the correct Sunnah and the Islamic core values promoted in them. These include several internationally protected human rights, such as the right to life, equality, and freedom of religion. The thesis points out that the main purpose of Shariah is to serve the benefit of the people and to protect them from harm. To this end, Shariah has provided the Islamic principles of reality and necessity. These require that the reality of life and the needs of the people be considered at all times. If necessary for the sake of the people, the principles allow for exceptions to be made to even definite provisions. It, further, demonstrates how these principles can be applied to reform the hudud ordinances to reconcile them with international human rights law.

The revision of laws and the application of culpability to those most responsible for serious humanitarian law violations has functioned as a necessary condition for achieving peace in most post-war societies. However, there is an embarrassing silence when it comes to addressing the question of whether children are to be subjected to the principle of individual criminal responsibility. As morally controversial as it is, the question remains fundamental. Unfortunately, children have been involved in armed conflicts, as victims primarily, but not exclusively. Children are among those accused of having committed brutal and terrible international crimes in times of armed conflict when part of armed groups or armed forces. And with no consensus within the international community regarding their status within International Criminal Law — no established law within International Law and no consistent practice among states on the issue— the problem of criminal accountability of children accused of international crimes remains unanswered. The current work conducts a legal positivist analysis with the focus of investigating the contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the current debate on children’s criminal responsibility under International Criminal Law. Among significant contributions, the Statute of the Special Court brought one interesting innovation to the debate on children’s potential criminal responsibility. Juveniles starting at age fifteen would be considered viable for prosecution if among those most responsible for the Special Court, as established in Article 7.1. The above innovation translates into two essential contributions to the debate on children criminal responsibility for international crimes: first the Special Court was the first international court to elect a minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) at age fifteen to be operational within the scope of the court. Secondly, and equally important, the court reflected the position that children, after the stipulated MACR would be considered, at least a priori, viable subjects of the international criminal system.

Thesis (LLD (Public Law))—University of Stellenbosch, 2008.
Aggression is regarded as one of the core crimes under customary international law, but the definition of aggression is still contentious. At present there is no international instrument that provides for effective individual criminal liability for the crime of aggression. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) provides for the inclusion of the crime of aggression within the court’s jurisdiction, but the Statute needs to be amended to include a definition of aggression and conditions for the exercise of jurisdiction by the ICC. This dissertation seeks to identify the elements of the international crime of aggression, for purposes of individual criminal liability. It is submitted that the creation of the ICC provides the international community with an historic opportunity to establish effective jurisdiction over the crime of aggression.

In international criminal law (ICL), legal meaning has been developed substantially through the judgments of international courts. Compared to some of their prosecutorial decisions, however, the way in which international judges have interpreted legal provisions has remained relatively uncontested. This study uses practice theory as a particularly fruitful lens through which to study the politics of legal interpretation. It analyses the conditions under which the creation of a comparatively uncontested judicial space became possible as an interplay between political commitments and the professional assumptions of ICL experts. The study argues that international criminal courts - unlike hybrid courts - have been accorded a particularly high degree of interpretive authority through what will be called the 'practice of privileged precedent'. It traces how this interpretive practice has been shared across institutional settings within a broader interpretive community, including by government officials and civil society representatives. Through this research, this thesis emphasises the relevance of legal interpretation for IR's understanding of international law and international courts. Drawing on legal theory, it also addresses one of the key challenges of IR's practice turn: its capacity to account for the creative potential of international practices. Methodologically, the thesis combines qualitative and quantitative forms of content analysis, elite interviews, and legal interpretive methods. It is based on an examination of over 100 judgments of international and hybrid criminal courts interpreting the crime of genocide and the law of war crimes, including judicial decisions delivered by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). This analysis is supplemented by 28 elite interviews with judges and legal experts at international criminal courts, staff at civil society organisations, and government officials working for the British and German foreign offices.

To date, the arrest warrants issued by the ICC against the Sudanese President, as a suspect of heinous international crimes committed in Darfur, have not been enforced. This thesis questions and analyzes the reasons behind this failure. The thesis also considers the question whether the official status of Omar Al Bashir, as the incumbent head of state, shields him from prosecution before the ICC. To answer this question, the thesis examines the various international law theories related to the heads of state immunity and explains their relevance and applicability to the case of Al Bashir. Finally, the thesis evaluates the likelihood of the arrest of the Sudanese President and explores the legal foundation of each possible action. The thesis concludes that the Genocide Convention remains the most instrumental and effective authority for the apprehension of Al Bashir, and it further illustrates its binding effect beyond the ICC states parties.

Current opinion pieces ask broad questions such as "Is the ICC worth it" while only focusing on a specific aspect of the ICC such as its budget or the work of the Office of the Prosecutor. Given the incredibly complex nature of human rights violations as well as the difficulty in assembling an international regime to deal with them, answering such questions requires a more complete analysis of the Court's functions, dynamics, and predecessors. The background chapter that discussed trends in international judicial organizations leading up to the creation of the ICC examined the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal, the interregnum national commissions, the Spanish Universal Jurisdiction system, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, addressing key pitfalls that such organizations faced (including victors' justice and unilateralism) while noting how the ICC's policies and structure differed from its predecessors'. The dynamics chapter highlighted eight key elements currently affecting how the Court works– the member states who have ratified the Rome Statute, the Court's ability to apprehend criminals, the international response to ICC actions, how prosecutions may be initiated, the explicit and implicit functions of the Court, its consensus policymaking, the Court's budget and finances, and the role of the United States. With these dynamics in mind, the policy alternatives chapter recommended three actions that could serve to strengthen the ICC's capabilities – increasing its member states, increasing compliance with its warrants through different types of international agreements, and increasing its budget to be able to handle more cases. Following these policy alternatives to their likely outcomes in the policy forecast section, I analyzed how they would affect the ICC's effectiveness, its ability to gain more member states, and the member states themselves. Through this more comprehensive analysis that takes into account the external and internal factors affecting the ICC, this thesis offers realistic ways that the ICC can improve its capabilities and achieve its mission of ending impunity for war criminals.

This thesis examines the debate about cultural relativism of human rights in the concrete context of the prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment as applied to criminal sentences. A study of the jurisprudence concerning the prohibition reveals that traditional legal methodology is unable to decide this debate unequivocally. It is argued that both an extreme uniformity in its interpretation as well as a complete lack of common standards are indefensible in the contemporary system of international law. Therefore, any modern interpretation of the prohibition has to strike a balance between these two extremes. Yet, this balance can not be established unilaterally once and for all. It has to be the result of an ongoing universal debate within the preexisting legal framework. Thus, the compromise that is found will shift over time to reflect the evolving consensus of the international community.

Some legal aspects of realization of principle of individual criminal responsibility in international criminal law are discovered in the article
У статті досліджуються певні особливості реалізації принципу індивідуальної кримінальної відповідальності у міжнародному кримінальному праві

The principle of complementarity is the cornerstone of the establishment of the International Criminal Court as well as one of the key factors for its successful operation.  Having said that, the qualities of being flexible and adaptable make the task of interpreting the principle of complementarity extremely sensitive and technically tricky.  According to the current wording of the principle of complementarity in the Rome Statute, the ICC could factually exercise primacy over the national jurisdiction, if a loose interpretation of the principle is adopted, or conversely being residual to national jurisdictions, if the principle was strictly interpreted. While the principle of complementarity was at the heart of the negotiating process for the establishment of the International Criminal Court, the emerging practice of the Court to date has left the vast majority of the questions on complementarity unanswered, even the few issues which the Court has touched upon are not immune from criticism. This thesis will thus strive, through an in-depth analysis of the past, present and practice of the principle of complementarity and its corollary issues, to offer workable answers as well as constructive criticism.  Guided by the central objective of ending impunity for the core crimes through criminal justice, this thesis, in interpreting the principle of complementarity, will follow a balanced approach which, while unequivocally favours national prosecutions where possible, it adopts a broadening interpretation when national jurisdictions are genuinely unavailable or ineffective.  To this end, this thesis eventually presents the principle of complementarity as a managerial principle which promotes for the effective investigation and prosecution of the core crimes through the adoption of different policies which encourage, inter alia, a division of labour between the International Criminal Court and domestic jurisdictions, and enable states to carry out proceedings and overcome dilemmas of ‘inability’ or ‘unwillingness’ without the role of the International Criminal Court being limited in such incidents to excluding national jurisdiction.

UN police are involved in establishing the rule of law, in UN Peace Operations. However, they themselves commit serious crimes, but are not generally prosecuted. This is likely to have an impact on the UN’s effectiveness and legitimacy. Are the UN’s mechanisms for addressing criminal accountability effective? If there is a problem, how can it be mitigated? To answer these questions, the qualifications, qualities and functions of UN police were identified. Next, an attempt was made to quantify the problem of their criminal behaviour. Current accountability mechanisms were assessed. Jurisdictional and immunity issues were examined as potential barriers to prosecution. Finally, the obligations of States and the UN to investigate and prosecute criminal acts committed by UN police were examined. Research confirmed that UN police officers commit serious crimes, but probably mostly while not on duty. Whether officers commit crimes appears to be linked more to their personal integrity than their functions. In the main, they are not being called to account. In addition, the UN is not effective in generating information fit for use in criminal proceedings. However, the laws on jurisdiction and immunity do not constitute legal barriers to accountability, although immunity poses some problems in practice. The principal problem appears to be the lack of political will to bring prosecutions. The finding that States, and arguably the UN, have an obligation to investigate and prosecute crimes may encourage prosecution. The lack of criminal accountability of the UN police appears to be linked to the mismatch between the ambitious Peace Operation mandates and the number of qualified personnel these attract. The UN also lacks transparency, which makes it difficult accurately to determine the scale of the problem. It is recommended that these issues be discussed frankly in the UN’s political organs.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent court created by the Rome Statute to prosecute persons for the most grievous crimes of human rights: war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. Based on the very idea that the protection of a set of universal human rights is the responsibility of the international community as a whole, the ICC today, however, finds itself uncertain about its future. Most notably, a number of non-signatory states, including traditionally major players in international politics such as the United States, China, and India, have been adamant against joining the Court because of their perception of potential indictment. When the leaders of these states seek to predict the possibility of an indictment, they have reason to believe that the current criteria for indictment used by the ICC judges are likely to lead to a situation in which national judicial independence and personal security of high-profile officials and other state actors including soldiers are unreasonably challenged. This thesis argues that, while some criteria used by the ICC judges can be inferred from previous judgements, these criteria do not constitute the sum total of the criteria for decision-making in the ICC and thus do not form an essential incentive for major outliers to join the Court. This thesis offers three solutions, focusing on the refinement of the Rome Statute, structural changes to the Court, and the elimination of the crime of aggression from the Statute.

International criminal law considers the accused’s right to be present at trial to be a key component of his or her right to a fair trial at international and internationalised criminal courts and tribunals. The central research question this thesis explores is: what does the accused’s right to be present at trial mean in international criminal law and are the accused at international and internationalised criminal courts and tribunals receiving the benefits of its protection? This thesis answers that question in eight substantive chapters examining a variety of issues relating to the right to be present at trial. In answering the research question this thesis makes four different contributions to knowledge. First, it brings together the rules and practices of all of the international and internationalised criminal courts and tribunals and provides analysis about how each one treats the right to be present at trial. Second, it challenges existing assumptions about how different courts and tribunals protect the right to be present at trial and show that even those courts and tribunals that are thought to emphasise the right also allow trial to continue in the accused’s absence under some circumstances. Third, it takes a more nuanced approach to trial absences by breaking absence into four categories and examining how the differences in the type of absence may affect the right to be present. Finally, it considers the procedures of the international and internationalised criminal courts and tribunals established since the introduction of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s Statute and finds that they generally take a more flexible approach to the accused’s right to be present. This thesis concludes that international criminal law provides the accused with a qualified right to be present at trial. The right confers on the accused the choice to attend trial and is coupled with a duty imposed on the court or tribunal attempting to conduct the trial whereby it cannot prevent the accused from attending trial if he or she so desires. The right to be present can be voluntarily waived by the accused if he or she has received notice sufficient to make an informed decision about whether he or she wants to appear. This approach creates a balance between respecting the accused’s right to be present while also allowing trial to continue if the accused does not wish to participate.

Magister Legum - LLM
This paper will explore the history of the outbreak of religious related violence in Nigeria and the response of Nigeria and the African Union to the acts of the Boko Haram group both legally and procedurally. The intervention of the ICC as a viable option to combat the scourge of the group will also be examined. Other options such as trial in the Court of third States under the principle of universal jurisdiction and a special court jointly facilitated by the States involved will also be assessed.

International criminal law is at a crucial juncture in its history and progression. The year 2019 marks 26 years since the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (‘ICTY’) and the commencement of the modern international criminal law project. In surveying the expanse of international criminal law at this time, it is clear that this project is at a crossroads, marked by a sense of transition and crisis. This stands in stark contrast to the jubilation and optimism that accompanied the creation of the ICTY. This thesis seeks to examine, analyse, and ultimately account for the forces that have driven international criminal law to this point. It does so using a unique methodological framework, which centres around an understanding of justice as a process. This process involves taking abstract beliefs about what is just (which we might term ‘justice beliefs’), focusing these into concrete aims for a particular international criminal tribunal (‘justice aims’), and embodying those aims in particular models and techniques to deliver justice (‘justice models’ and ‘justice techniques’), in order to deliver practical outcomes that ensure lasting legacies of justice (‘justice legacies’). Analysing the purposes and practices of the international criminal tribunals (‘ICTs’) through the lens of this ‘justice progression’, by examining the operation of the ICTs at each stage of this process, offers new insights into the operation of the ICTs, and reveals some of the hidden causes of the systemic problems they face. In particular, it reveals that at each stage of this ‘justice progression’ the ICTs fail to live up to the standards (beliefs, aims, models, techniques and legacies) that they set for themselves. This is due both to practical difficulties in implementation and, perhaps more significantly, flaws and assumptions implicit in those standards themselves, which skew the operation of the ICTs in particular, often problematic, ways.

Diplomatic immunity is one of the oldest elements of foreign relations, dating back as far as Ancient Greece and Rome. Today, it is a principle that has been codified into the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations regulating past customs and practices. Consuls and international organizations, although their privileges and immunities are similar to diplomatic personnel, do differ and are regulated by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the United Nations International Immunities respectively. These Conventions have been influenced by past practices and by three theories during different era’s namely exterritoriality, personal representation and functional necessity. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations further provides certain immunities and privileges to different levels of diplomatic officials, their staff and families. Privileges and immunities will be considered under various main categories, namely the diplomatic mission, the diplomatic official, diplomatic staff, and families. Each category receives privileges and immunities, for example immunities enjoyed by the diplomatic mission include mission correspondence and bags. Diplomatic officials enjoy personal inviolability, immunity from jurisdiction and inviolability of diplomats’ residences and property. The staff and families of diplomatic officials too enjoy privileges and immunities. The problem of so many people receiving privileges and immunities is that there is a high likelihood of abuse. Abuses that arise are various crimes committed by diplomats, their staff and families. They are immune from local punishment and appear to be above the local law. Although the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations provides remedies against diplomats, staff and families who abuse their position, it gives the impression that it is not enough. Various Acts in the United Kingdom, United States and the Republic of South Africa will be analysed in order to ascertain what governments have done to try and curb diplomatic abuses. Each will be considered and found that although they have restricted immunity from previous practices it still places the diplomats’ needs above its own citizens. Thus several suggestions have been put forward and argued whether they are successful in restricting immunity comprehensively. Such suggestions are amending the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations; using the functional necessity theory to further limit immunity; forming bilateral treaties between States as a possible means to restrict or limit; and lastly establishing a Permanent International Diplomatic Criminal Court. The key question to be answered is whether diplomatic immunity is needed for the efficient functioning of foreign relations between States.

Du fait des particularismes inhérents à l’ordre juridique international, les contours et le contenu de la justice internationale diffèrent de ceux de la justice interne. Ils répondent à des forces directrices variables qui déterminent la conception même des juridictions internationales et de la justice qu’elles sont mandatées de rendre. Ces forces sont en constante évolution, de concert avec la transformation permanente de l’ordre juridique international. Le phénomène juridictionnel international est ainsi parcouru par plusieurs dynamiques. Au travers de l’étude du cas de la Cour pénale internationale, institution internationale clivante, l’ambition essentielle de cette étude est double. D’une part, il s’agit de démontrer la grande diversité de fonctions judiciaires pénales internationales, dont l’existence même nourrit de sérieux désaccords, tant au sein de la doctrine qu’auprès du personnel de la Cour et des conseillers juridiques des États. Il est donc nécessaire de partir à la recherche et d’examiner les éléments par lesquels la Cour exerce ses fonctions judiciaires afin de répondre au besoin de déterminer, de critiquer et d’ordonner les fonctions judiciaires pénales internationales. La thèse prend position sur chacune d’entre elles. D’autre part, l’analyse vise à exposer l’existence d’une métamorphose de la justice pénale internationale. Il faut pour cela mettre en lumière les dynamiques d’extension et de développement des fonctions judiciaires pénales internationales et, ainsi, lever le voile sur une dynamique plus générale d’enrichissement de la justice internationale
The progressive legalization of the international society has generated a similar fundamental issue: the implementation of the international law by international courts and tribunals. A slow and relentless judicialisation of international relations has been observed, to the point that there are different providers of the same international judicial function, competent on a large majority of areas of international law.Because of peculiarities inherent to the international legal order, the outlines and content of international justice are different from those of the internal justice. They respond to varying driving forces which determine the conception of international courts and the notion of justice that they are mandated to render. These forces are constantly changing, along with the ongoing transformation of the international legal order. Indeed, the international judicial phenomenon is subject to several dynamics. Through the case study of the International Criminal Court, the essential aim of this study is twofold. First, it is to demonstrate the great diversification of international criminal judicial functions. Some of them crystallize serious disagreements, within the doctrine as to the staff of the Court and Legal Advisors to States. It is therefore necessary to research and examine the elements by which the Court exercises its various judicial functions. The thesis takes a position on each of them. On the other hand, the analysis aims to expose the existence of a metamorphosis of international criminal justice. This requires highlighting two dynamics: the expansion and the development of the international criminal judicial function, and thus unveiling a general dynamic of enrichment of international justice