Treatise on International Criminal Law Volume Foundations and General Part OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Contents Table of Cases Table of Legislation List of Abbreviations List of Figures xiii xxviii Chapter I: Historical Overview: The Road from Early Prosecutions of War Crimes to the Creation of the ICC 1 A. The Versailles Peace Treaty and Historical Precedents 1 B. The First Ad Hoc Tribunals: Nuremberg and Tokyo 4 (1) The trials against the major war criminals of Germany and Japan 5 (2) Post-Nuremberg WWII trials 7 (3) The Nuremberg Principles as the immediate consequence the Nuremberg Trials 9 C. The Development of International Criminal Law Prior to the Establishment of the UN Ad Hoc Tribunals 10 (1) The Genocide Convention 10 (2) The Hague and Geneva laws (3) The Draft Codes of the International Law Commission (4) Private initiatives 18 D. The UN Ad Hoc Tribunals 19 (1) The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (2) The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 22 E. The International Criminal Court 23 (1) Negotiating history 23 (2) The Rome Statute, the structure of the Court and other legal instruments 25 (a) General 25 (b) The judges 26 (c) The the Prosecutor (OTP) 29 (d) Registry, and Assembly of States Parties 31 (e) Legal sources 32 The first Review Conference in Kampala 34 (3) Current investigations 35 (a) Situations and triggers 35 (b) From situations to cases 37 F. 40 (1) The legal bases 40 (a) Kosovo 41 (b) East Timor 42 (c) Sierra Leone 43 (d) Cambodia 44 (e) Iraq 46 (f) Lebanon 48 (g) Bangladesh 50 (2) Comparative analysis 51
viii Contents Chapter II: Concept, Function, and Sources of International Criminal Law 54 A. Concept, Meaning, and Object of International Criminal Law 54 B. Punitive Power, Overall Function, and Purposes of Punishment 56 (1) The punitive power (ius puniendi) of the international community 57 (2) The overall function of (international) criminal law 60 (a) The theoretical starting point: protection of and prevention harm 60 (b) The transfer to international criminal law 65 (3) On the purposes of punishment stricto 67 (a) Traditional theories 67 (b) International criminal law 68 C. Sources and Methods of Interpretation 73 Chapter III: Imputation and General Structure of Crime in International Criminal Law 81 A. A General Part of International Criminal Law 81 B. Imputation in International Criminal Law 83 (1) Individuals acting in a collective context 84 (2) Individual responsibility 86 C. Fundamental Principles: Legality, Culpability, and Fairness 87 (1) Legality 88 (2) Culpability 93 (3) Fairness 95 D. The Structure of Crime 97 (1) Preliminary remarks: the nature of crime and the question of system' 97 (2) The structure of crime in ICL 99 Individual Criminal Responsibility 102 A. The Recognition of Individual Criminal Responsibility in International Criminal Law 102 B. Historical Case Law on Individual Criminal Responsibility in ICL 103 (1) The Tokyo, and UNWCC trials 103 (a) The applicable law (b) Objective elements of individual responsibility (actus reus) 105 (i) Causal connection? 105 (ii) Participation/complicity 106 (iii) Expansion of attribution 108 (1) Command responsibility 108 (2) Conspiracy 110 (3) Membership in a criminal organization (c) Subjective elements of individual responsibility (mens (2) Selected judgments on Nazi crimes, and other state-sponsored criminality (a) Objective elements of responsibility (actus reus) (i) Participation, in particular perpetration by virtue of an organization (ii) Others (b) Subjective elements of responsibility (mens C. The Modern Law on Individual Criminal Responsibility 120 (1) Preliminary remarks (2) Article and Article 121
Contents ix (a) physical and co-perpetration 121 (b) 'Indirect' commission I: joint criminal enterprise 123 (c) 'Indirect' commission II: aiding and abetting 127 (d) Incitement to commit genocide 132 (e) Delimitation of co-perpetration and aiding and abetting (3) Mixed tribunals 135 (a) The applicable law 135 (b) law 136 (i) The Special Panels East Timor 136 (ii) The Special Court for Sierra Leone 138 (iii) The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts Cambodia 140 (iv) The Iraqi Special Tribunal 141 (v) The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (4) Article 25 ICC Statute as the central provision on individual criminal responsibility in ICL (a) Preliminary remarks: the law of participation and Article 25(3) 144 (b) Detailed analysis of paragraph 3 148 (i) Forms of perpetration (subparagraph (a)) 148 (1) Direct perpetration (2) Co-perpetration 149 (3) Perpetration through another person, in particular organizational control 154 (4) Special consideration: joint criminal enterprise (JCE) 160 (ii) Complicity I: encouragement (subparagraph (b)) 163 (iii) Complicity II: assistance (subparagraph (c)) 164 (iv) Responsibility extension I: other contribution to group crime (subparagraph (d)) 166 (v) Responsibility extension II: incitement to commit genocide (subparagraph (e)) (vi) Participation and the crime of aggression (paragraph bis) (vii) Complicity after commission 171 (viii) Special consideration: JCE III and fundamental principles of criminal law 172 (c) Conclusions and perspectives 176 V: Omission, in Particular Command Responsibility 180 A. Rationale, Concept, and Forms of Omission 180 B. Is There General Omission Liability (Commission Par Omission) in ICL? 189 (1) The sources: written and case 189 (2) by omission as a rule of customary law or a general principle? 193 (3) Conclusion 197 C. Omission Liability Proper Command Responsibility 197 (1) Preliminary remarks 197 (2) Article and Article 199 (3) Mixed tribunals 203 (4) Article 28 ICC Statute 206 (a) Preliminary remarks 206 (b) Objective requirements of superior responsibility 208 (i) The status of the superior 208 (ii) Effective and control' or and control' (iii) Crimes as a of the superior's failure to exercise control properly (iv) 'Necessary and reasonable' 'within his her power* 217
x Contents (c) Subjective requirements of superior responsibility 220 (i) Military and non-military superior: positive knowledge 220 (ii) Military superior: have 221 (iii) Non-military superior: 'consciously disregarded information which clearly 227 (d) Special issues 228 Command responsibility and ordering 228 (ii) Command responsibility and JCE 229 (iii) Command responsibility and the principle culpability 230 (iv) Command responsibility in armed conflicts 232 VI: Attempt as a Special Form Individual Criminal Responsibility 233 A. General Considerations 233 (1) Why punish attempt? 234 (2) History of attempt in international criminal law 235 (3) Definition (Article 25(3)(f) ICC Statute) 236 (4) Crimes subject to attempt liability in ICL 238 B. The Essential Elements of Attempt in Comparative Law as a Basis for ICL 240 (1) the offence 241 (2) Subjective requirement: intent to commit the crime (intent or fault element) 243 (3) Objective requirement (conduct element) 245 (a) Comparative law: common and civil law approaches 245 (b) Conclusion: no 'magic formula' to determine the commencement of attempt 251 C. The Correct Approach to the ICC Statute's 'Commencement of Execution': a Formula of Approximation 252 D. Application to ICL Core Crimes (Articles 5-8 ICC Statute) 256 (1) Genocide (Article 6), including incitement and general (secondary) participation 256 (2) Crimes against humanity (Article 7) 259 (3) War crimes (Article 8) 262 (4) Crime aggression (Article 8bis) 263 E. Abandonment 264 F. Conclusion 265 Chapter VII: The Subjective Requirements of International Crimes 266 A. The General Mental Requirement: Intent and Knowledge (Article 30 ICC Statute) 266 (1) Preliminary remarks and terminological clarifications 266 (2) The subject matter or objects of reference of Article 30 in general 270 (a) The general object of reference of the mental element: material elements 270 (b) The specific objects of reference of the mental element: 'consequence', and 271 (3) The standard or degrees the mental element 274 (a) With regard to 'conduct' 274 (b) With regard to 'consequence' 275 (c) With regard to 276 (d) Are lower standards than 'intent' and 'knowledge' sufficient? 276 (4) The object of reference of the mental element with regard to the specific crimes (Articles 6-8 ICC Statute) 278 (a) Genocide (Article 6) 279 (b) Crimes against humanity (Article 7) 280 (c) War crimes (Article 8) 283
Contents xi (5) The object of reference of the mental element with regard to the forms of participation (Article 25 ICC Statute) 288 (6) The mental element and normative elements of the offence 289 B. Additional or Different Subjective Requirements Pursuant to the 'Unless Otherwise 291 (1) Preliminary remarks 291 (2) Genocide (Article 6 ICC Statute) 292 (a) 'Intent to destroy' 292 (b) Underlying of genocide 294 (3) Crimes against humanity (Article 7 ICC Statute) 295 (4) War crimes (Article 8 ICC Statute) 297 (5) Modes of participation (Article 25(3) ICC Statute) 299 C. Conclusion 300 Chapter VIII: Grounds Excluding Responsibility ('Defences') 301 A. Introduction 301 B. Classification of Defences 302 (1) Substantive and procedural defences 302 (2) Full partial defences 303 (3) Justifications and excuses 304 (4) Failure defences and alibi 307 (5) Hierarchy of defences 308 C. Substantive Defences 311 (1) Preliminary conceptual questions (a) Substantive defences in ICL (b) Relevant point time 312 (c) Standard and burden of proof 312 (d) Application of defences by the ICC (2) Mental disease or defect ICC Statute) 314 (a) The insanity defence in national criminal law 314 (b) The insanity defence in the international jurisprudence 319 (c) The approach the ICC Statute 320 (d) Obstacles to proof and the role of expert witnesses 323 (3) Intoxication (Article 31(l)(b) ICC Statute) 324 (a) The intoxication defence in national criminal law 324 (b) The intoxication defence in the international jurisprudence 327 (c) The approach ICC Statute 328 (4) 31(l)(c) Statute) 330 (a) Self-defence in national criminal law 330 (b) The differentiation between state and private self-defence 334 (c) The applicability of private self-defence in ICL 336 (d) Self-defence in the international jurisprudence 337 (e) The approach ICC Statute 338 (5) Duress and necessity ICC Statute) 342 (a) Duress/necessity in national criminal law 342 (b) Duress/necessity in the international jurisprudence 348 (i) Nuremberg jurisprudence 348 (ii) Post-Nuremberg jurisprudence 349 (iii) Recent international jurisprudence with a special focus on the Erdemovic case 352 (c) The approach ICC Statute 356 (i) Threat of death or serious bodily harm 356 (ii) Necessary and reasonable reaction 359
xii Contents (iii) Subjective requirements 359 (iv) Special considerations applicable to the killing of innocent civilians 361 (6) Mistake fact and mistake law 366 (a) Mistake in national criminal law 366 (b) Mistake in the international jurisprudence 368 (c) The approach ICC Statute 370 (i) Mistakes concerning the elements an offence 370 (ii) Mistakes concerning defences 374 (iii) Critical assessment of the error iuris rule 375 (7) Superior order 376 (a) Superior order in the international jurisprudence 377 (b) The approach ICC Statute 379 (8) Other defences 386 (a) Consent of the victim 387 (b) Military necessity 388 (c) Reprisals 390 (d) Tu-quoque principle 393 D. Procedural Defences 393 (1) conceptual questions 393 (2) The ne bis in idem principle 396 (a) National ne bis in idem 396 (b) Transnational ne bis in idem 399 (c) International ne bis in idem (3) Immunities 406 (a) General remarks 406 (b) Types of immunities 407 (c) Immunity as a procedural defence 410 (d) Immunity for international crimes? (i) Vertical immunity (vis-a-vis international criminal tribunals) (ii) Horizontal immunity (interstate level) 417 (4) Amnesties, pardons, and other waivers of punishment 419 (a) The need for a proportionality test 420 (b) Consequences for amnesties: two approaches 422 (i) Blanket amnesties: strict approach 422 (ii) Conditional flexibleapproach 425 (c) Consequences for international tribunals 426 (5) Other procedural defences 427 (a) Statute of limitations 427 (b) Exclusion jurisdiction over juveniles 430 (c) Incompetence/unfitness to stand trial 432 (d) Abuse of process 434 General Literature 438 Index of Names 445 Index of Subjects 448