International criminal law (ICL) is an important part of international law which targets and seeks to punish anyone who commits serious crimes such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression to name a few. There is a strong belief that such offenders deserve to be punished and ICL aims to achieve those goals. The ultimate purpose of ICL in the international criminal justice system is the maintenance of peace and security.
Core Crimes Under International Criminal Law
Genocide
Genocide means the intent to destroy a particular group of people which could be due to their ethnicity, religion, or nationality. Genocide includes murdering an individual, inflicting mental harm, deliberate action that can destroy the physical condition of a group, preventing births, and transferring children to a different group.
War Crimes
War crimes are extreme penalties for violation of international humanitarian law. War crimes consist of unlawful killing, infliction of torture, hostage taking, needless targeting of civilian populations, and using outlawed weapons or methods.
Crimes Against Humanity
Humanity is attacked systemically and Human Rights are violated internationally through terrorism. Deportation, imprisonment, torture, sexual torture, persecution of certain communities, widening gulf and many more immigration acts violate human rights. Murder, extermination, enslavement, disappearing whole communities are acts of violence and inhumane behavior which need to be addressed.
Crime of Aggression
Aggression act is the waging of war and taking of arms against another independent nation. The act of aggression is in breach of the United Nations rule that prohibits this.
International Criminal Tribunals
These are courts that have been established internationally to address crimes committed internationally. They include:
Permanent Tribunals
The US has not signed the Rome Statute, so despite it being formed in 2002, the US is not permitted to belong to the International Criminal Court. The US along with other nations are combatants against genocide, war crime, and acts such as terrorism.
Ad Hoc or Temporary Tribunals
These courts are formed with the intent to resolve certain disputes and are then abolished once the purpose is met. Following are some of the notable ones:
- International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg: The tribunal was established after WWII to hold major war criminals of Nazi Germany accountable.
- International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Tribunal): This tribunal was set to prosecute Japan leaders on war crimes that were carried out during WWII.
- International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY): This tribunal’s aim was to prosecute for war crimes that were carried out during the Yugoslav wars.
- International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR): This tribunal wanted to address the serious attacks on genocide in Rwanda.
- Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL): This tribunal was formed so that the people responsible for assassinatioof the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri are brought to justice.
Principles of Jurisdiction in International Criminal Law
There are several principles constituting to Jurisdictions in ICL:
- Territorial Jurisdiction: A state is entitled to have jurisdiction over the offences that were conducted in their physical borders.
- Nationality Jurisdiction: A state has the authority to legally charge a perpetrator for any crimes no matter the location as long as they are within their nationality.
- Universal Jurisdiction: There are certain crimes where a state may pin jurisdiction irrespective of the location of the crime or the nationality of the perpetrator or the victim. This principle is often invoked for crimes such as genocide or war crimes.
Challenges and Developments in International Criminal Law
As advances have been made, there are challenges to ICL including political will, state sovereignty concerns, and the implementation of international warrants. The recent politics surrounding the issuance of arrest warrants for international leaders by the ICC is an example of the challenges surrounding the prosecution of International crimes.
As a measure to provide justice to the perpetrators of the most heinous crimes, International Criminal Law form a critical component of the promotion of justice on a global scale. Thus with the existence of permanent bodies such as the ICC and creation of ad-hoc courts, the international society aims at preventing the occurrence of crimes or at least trying to punish the few that happen and therefore upholding the law internationally.
graph TD
A[International Criminal Law] --> B[Genocide]
A --> C[War Crimes]
A --> D[Crimes Against Humanity]
A --> E[Crime of Aggression]
A --> F[International Criminal Tribunals]
F --> G[Permanent Tribunals]
F --> H[Ad Hoc Tribunals]
Other related articles:
International Humanitarian Law
