International criminal law is the part of public international law that deals with the criminal responsibility of individuals for international crimes. There is no generally accepted definition of international crimes. A distinction can be made between international crimes which are based on international customary law and therefore apply universally and crimes resulting from specific treaties which criminalize certain conduct and require the contracting states to implement legislation for the criminal prosecution of this conduct in their domestic legal system. The international core crimes, i.e., crimes over which international tribunals have been given jurisdiction under international law, are: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. International criminal law finds its origin in both international law and criminal law and closely relates to other areas of international law. The most important areas are human rights law and international humanitarian law as well as the law on state responsibility. The sources of international criminal law are the same as those of general international law mentioned in article 38(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice: treaties, international customary law, general principles of law, judicial decisions and writings of eminent legal scholars. The Nuremberg and Tokyo trials signaled the birth of present-day international criminal law, i.e., the prosecution of individuals for international crimes before international tribunals. In the early nineties of the previous century international criminal law received a major stimulus with the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda by the United Nations Security Council. Also the creation of various internationalized or mixed criminal courts and the proposals of the International Law Commission, which resulted in the creation of the International Criminal Court in 2002, contributed to the rapid development of international criminal law during the last two decades.
This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for research in the field of International Criminal Law. It provides the basic legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library’s classification index code 248. International Criminal Law ; General Works and subject heading (keyword) International Criminal Law are instrumental for searching through the Catalogue. Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.
Aspegren, L., International Criminal Law and the Genocide in Rwanda, Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI), Lund University, 2013. [PDF]
Add comments -for instance if you think we missed something, or just to express your thoughts- about the bibliography in this research guide:
The Peace Palace Library has a collection of over a million publications. Each week, about six hundred new titles are added to our collection: books, articles, documents, online publications, etc. On this page, access is provided to this week’s new titles on International criminal law and criminal procedure. It covers a wide variety of topics which include, international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression; international criminal tribunals: Nuremberg and Tokyo International Military Tribunals, International Criminal Court, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Iraqi Special Tribunal, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Special Court for Sierra Leone, Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Other subjects in this section include, among others: child soldiers; women and sex crimes; individual criminal responsibility; Residual mechanism; Rome Statute; superior orders; victims; and universal jurisdiction.
Book.
Chapter.
Article.
Electronic article available in library.
Electronic book available in library.
Counter-terrorism International criminal procedure "Crimes against peace" and international law Genocide and crimes against humanity These publications are selected for you by .
International criminal law is at a crucial point in its history and development, and the time is right for practitioners, academics and students to take stock of the lessons learnt from the past fifteen years, as the international community moves towards an increasingly uni-polar international criminal legal order, with the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the helm. This unique research companion takes a critical approach to a wide variety of theoretical, practical, legal and policy issues surrounding and underpinning the operation of international criminal law as applied by international criminal tribunals. The book is divided into four main parts. The first part analyses international crimes and modes of liability, with a view to identifying areas which have been inconsistently or misguidedly interpreted, overlooked to date or are likely to be increasingly significant in future. The second part examines international criminal processes and procedures, and here the authors discuss issues such as victim participation and the rights of the accused. The third part is a discussion of complementarity and sentencing, while the final part of the book looks at international criminal justice in context. The authors raise issues which are likely to provide the most significant challenges and most promising opportunities for the continuing development of this body of law. As international criminal law becomes more established as a distinct discipline, it becomes imperative for international criminal scholarship to provide a degree of critical analysis, both of individual legal issues and of the international criminal project as a whole. This book represents an important collective effort to introduce an element of legal realism or critical legal studies into the academic discourse.
View this title in our link resolver Plinklet
“In 1946, the judges at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg declared ‘crimes against peace’ – the planning, initiation or waging of aggressive wars – to be ‘the supreme international crime’. At the time, the prosecuting powers heralded the charge as being a legal milestone, but it later proved to be an anomaly arising from the unique circumstances of the post-war period. This study traces the idea of criminalising aggression, from its origins after the First World War, through its high-water mark at the post-war tribunals at Nuremberg and Tokyo, to its abandonment during the Cold War. Today, a similar charge – the ‘crime of aggression’ – is being mooted at the International Criminal Court, so the ideas and debates that shaped the original charge of ‘crimes against peace’ assume new significance and offer valuable insights to lawyers, policy-makers and scholars engaged in international law and international relations”–
View this title in our link resolver Plinklet
The emergence of international criminal courts, beginning with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and including the International Criminal Court, has also brought an evolving international criminal procedure. In this book, the authors examine selected issues that reflect a blending of, or choice between, civil law and common law models of procedure. The issues include background on civil law and common law legal systems; plea bargaining; witness proofing; written and oral evidence; self-representation and the use of assigned, standby, and amicus counsel; the role of victims; and the right to appeal. This book is intended for anyone interested in the complex and fascinating interaction of civil law and common law procedures in the international criminal courts. Students of international criminal law will gain a basic understanding of the differences between civil and common law systems.
View this title in our link resolver Plinklet
The purpose of this book is to find a unified approach to the doctrine of mens rea in the sphere of international criminal law, based on an in-depth comparative analysis of the different legal systems and the jurisprudence of international criminal tribunals since Nuremberg. The book begins by examining the concept of mens rea in common and continental legal systems, as well as its counterpart in Islamic Shari’a law. This is followed by a look at the jurisprudence of the post-World War II trials and the work of the International Law Commission. A separate chapter then defines the concept of genocidal intent in light of the travaux preparatoires of the 1948 Genocide Convention and scholarly opinions. Further chapters are devoted to a discussion of the boundaries of mens rea in the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The final chapter of the book examines the definition of the mental element as provided for in Article 30 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court in light of the recent decisions delivered by the International Criminal Court.
View this title in our link resolver Plinklet
International criminal law and the international courts and tribunals that administer it have witnessed a surge in interest over the past two decades, and it occupies an increasingly prominent position on the legal landscape. This topical collection, prepared by an eminent authority in international criminal law, successfully brings together a cross-section of the most important literature, providing a unique overview of the discipline. Areas covered in this three-volume collection include the origins of international law, the general principles, procedure and evidence, alternatives to prosecution as well as national systems. This important publication will be a valuable reference tool for scholars, academics and practitioners in the field of international criminal law.
View this title in our link resolver Plinklet
This is the first comprehensive study of the law governing professional misconduct by defense lawyers before the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC’s regulatory regime was introduced in response to instances of misconduct experienced by other international and domestic criminal courts. The book first turns to how the ICC’s forerunners – the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone – coped with misconduct, often resulting in controversy. It also looks at the approaches which have evolved in Germany and the United States, reflecting the different role of defense lawyers in the civil and common law criminal justice traditions. It offers a unique insight into the professional responsibilities of defense lawyers within the various international and national regimes. Offering practical guidance on disciplinary systems and other sanctioning mechanisms, the book also explores the inherent tension at the heart of the defense lawyer’s role: ensuring the human right to a fair trial and therefore anticipating that they will be zealous advocates for their clients, while, at the same time, expecting that they commit themselves as officers of the court.
View this title in our link resolver Plinklet
International criminal justice has undergone rapid recent development. Since the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1993, and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in the following year, the field has changed beyond recognition. The traditional immunity of presidents or heads of government, prime ministers, and other functionaries acting in an official capacity no longer prevails; the doctrine of superior orders is inapplicable except, where appropriate, as in mitigation; and the gap between international armed conflict and non-international armed conflict has closed. More generally, the bridge has been crossed between the irresponsibility of the state and the criminal responsibility of the individual. As a result, the traditional impunity of the state has practically gone. This book, by one of the former judges of the ICTY, ICTR, and the International Court of Justice, assesses some of the workings of the ICTY that have shaped these developments. In it, Judge Shahabuddeen provides an insightful overview of the nature of this criminal court, established on behalf of the whole of the international community. He reflects on its transformation into one of the leading fora for the growth of international criminal law first-hand, offering a unique perspective on the challenges it has faced. Judge Shahabuddeen’s experience in international criminal justice makes this volume essential reading for those interested in, or working with, international criminal law.
View this title in our link resolver Plinklet
This book studies the interpretation and application of the principle of equality of arms in proceedings before several international criminal courts. The coming of age of these institutions merits an evaluation of the application of one of the fundamental principles underlying a criminal procedure. The practice of these courts presents some substantial challenges to achieving a meaningful equality of arms in the context in which these courts operate. Before studying the law and jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the International Criminal Court, and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the historical roots and the meaning of the principle of equality of arms are examined from two perspectives: the human rights perspective and the criminal process perspective. Subsequently, four themes that are central to understanding the principle of equality of arms in the international criminal context are discussed. First, the focus is on the investigation stage of the criminal process and the ability of the parties to prepare for trial. Next, the study takes a closer look at the system of disclosure of materials that were collected during investigations. Third, attention is paid to the issue of the perceived inequality in resources and facilities between the parties and the institutionally unequal positioning of the defence. Last, issues concerning the presentation of the case at the trial stage, such as the time and the number of witnesses the parties are allowed to present and the issues relating to the examination of witnesses and the admissibility of evidence, are examined. The book concludes with general observations on the scope and proper understanding of the principle of fairness, the right to a fair trial and the principle of equality of arms.
View this title in our link resolver Plinklet
This book addresses a specific aspect of international criminal law. It describes the legal position and conditions of persons detained under the jurisdiction of international criminal tribunals, particularly as regards their internal legal position, their rights and duties inside the remand facility. Central to the book is the understanding that the circumstances surrounding these persons’ detention are different from a domestic context. The author’s primary aim is to disclose the law of detention of international criminal tribunals. The book sets out the applicable law, including the law’s underlying principles, and focuses on a number of specific procedural and substantive legal issues. As to procedural issues, it examines the available disciplinary and complaints procedures as well as procedures applicable to the designation of States for the enforcement of the tribunals’ sentences. In respect of substantive law, it focuses on the detainees’ right to contact with the outside world, including contact with their relatives, with their lawyers and with the media. The book further examines whether the positive law corresponds to the relevant international penal standards and human rights law. As an outcome of immediate exchanges (interviews) between the author and the authorities involved, the author provides a substantial clarification and critical assessment of the current issues and paradoxes of the domain in question. The book will be an extremely useful guidance for practitioners in applying the law and principles of the tribunals’ detention law, particularly because it is the first monograph written on the topic.
Dr. Denis Abels is Assistant Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Amsterdam and a research fellow at the Amsterdam Center of International Law.
This book examines the concept of individual criminal responsibility for serious violations of international law, i.e. aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Such crimes are rarely committed by single individuals. Rather, international crimes generally connote a plurality of offenders, particularly in the execution of the crimes, which are often orchestrated and masterminded by individuals behind the scene of the crimes who can be termed ‘intellectual perpetrators’. For a determination of individual guilt and responsibility, a fair assessment of the mutual relationships between those persons is indispensable. By setting out how to understand and apply concepts such as joint criminal enterprise, superior responsibility, duress, and the defence of superior orders, this work provides a framework for that assessment. It does so by bringing to light the roots of these concepts, which lie not merely in earlier phases of development of international criminal law but also in domestic law and legal doctrine. The book also critically reflects on how criminal responsibility has been developed in the case law of international criminal tribunals and courts. It thus illuminates and analyses the rules on individual responsibility in international law.
View this title in our link resolver Plinklet
This volume of the International Criminal Law Series presents background information on the legal concept of ‘crimes against humanity’. The first part provides an in-dept account of the history and international legal implications of the concept. In the second part of the book the ICTY and ICTR case-law is analyzed in detail.
View this title in our link resolver PlinkletThe latest in a series of Hollywood productions which reopened a debate about torture and extraordinary rendition is Zero Dark Thirty. Real life variations of Hollywood-scenarios have been unfolding as the US government has engaged in a program of extraordinary rendition since the Clinton Administration and which became widespread under the Bush Administration following the September 11 terrorist attacks.This blog examines Obama’s policy towards torture and (extraordinary) rendition.
Read moreIn an earlier Peace Palace Library blog (Cultucide in Timbuktu: Shari’a and war crimes) Ingrid Kost wrote that the Islamist Group Ansar (Ed)dine (“Defenders of the Faith”) destroyed some of the age-old mausolea of Sufi Saints in Timbuktu, Mali. One of the major causes of destruction of cultural property (the illicit trading, stealing and looting of cultural property is not covered in this blog) over the ages has been armed conflict. Crimes against cultural property should therefore be addressed properly.
Read moreWhen we first think about wars and armed conflicts, we very often think about battlefields, burned villages, wounded soldiers, air-bombs and tanks. We tend to forget that civilians, women and children in particular, are at the centre of warfare and frequently fall victim to sexual violence in staggering numbers. The international community and the UN Security Council have established that gender crimes are part of the most serious of international crimes and should therefore be of great concern to the international community as a whole. In spite of this, international crimes involving sexual violence continue to be one of the most difficult crimes to prosecute.
This blog will briefly discuss the international criminal prosecution of gender crimes by various international legal institutions.
Read moreTen years ago, on 1 July 2002 the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) entered into force. At the moment there are 121 States Parties to the Rome Statute. The ICC is the first permanent international court for the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
What has been achieved by the Court since 2002?
Read moreLast weekend the Islamist Group Ansar Eddine (“Defenders of the Faith”) destroyed some of the age-old mausolea of Sufi Saints in Timbuktu. Despite the fact that recently on June 28 2012, these mausolea were placed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger.
Read moreThe handling of the ICC arrest warrant against the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir continues to create major problems for the African Union. The planned attendance by Al-Bashir of the 19th AU Summit in Malawi coming July and the threat of the Malawi government to arrest him if he did attend has forced the African Union to move the summit to its headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Read moreOn Thursday 26 April, Trial Chamber II of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) delivered its verdict in the case against Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia. Taylor was found criminally responsible of aiding and abetting rebel forces in the commission of 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international humanitarian law in neighboring Sierra Leone during its civil war.
Read moreOn Wednesday 14 March, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered it’s first verdict. In a unanimous decision three judges convicted Thomas Lubanga Dyilo of the war crimes of conscripting, enlisting, and using children under the age of 15 to participate actively in hostilities. With this judgment the ICC firmly establishes the use of children in armed conflict as an international crime and also focuses renewed attention on the many thousands of children still used in various other conflicts in the world.
Read moreLecture in the Peace Palace Library on the Eichmann trial, that took place 50 yeras ago.
Read moreIt was all over the news that Ratko Mladić, one of two remaining the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) fugitives, was arrested on Thursday 26th of May in the village of Lazarevo, northern Serbia. After 16 years on the run, the arrest of this Colonel General, former Commander of the Main Staff [...]
Read moreOn February 16th 2011- following a wave of uprisings throughout the Middle-East- Libya experienced a so-called Day of Rage which led to protests breaking out to challenge Colonel Muammar Qadhafi’s 41 year old iron rule- the region’s longest. This blog will briefly discuss the actions taken by the United Nations Security Council and the ICC in response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Libya.
Read moreSince 1945, the bombing of Dresden is considered by many as a violation of international law and as a crime against humanity, even though positive rules of international humanitarian law were absent at the time. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, were among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the nascent body of international law. However these conventions, adressing the codes of wartime conduct on land and at sea, were adopted before the rise of air power. Despite repeated diplomatic attempts (→ The Hague Rules of Air Warefare 1922/1923) to update international humanitarian law to include aerial warfare, it was not done before the outbreak of World War II. The absence of positive international humanitarian law does not mean that the laws of war did not cover aerial warfare, but there was no general agreement of how to interpret those laws.
The aerial bombardment of Dresden does not only raise the question as to whether or not it was an Allied war crime, but it also makes a moral appeal to prevent total war against civilian populations. It’s memory is kept alive.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Syrian President Bashar Assad visited Beirut on Friday 30th July in a show of unity before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s indictments in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Lebanon’s president, prime minister and parliamentary speaker stood side by side to receive the heads of state as they descended from a Saudi jet onto a red carpet at Rafik Hariri International Airport. The visit appeared to be an attempt to quell anxiety in Lebanon that followed a speech last week by Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the militant group Hezbollah, in which he denied links between his party and Hariri’s death.
Read moreAfter two weeks of intense debates and years of preparatory work by the Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression, the Review Conference of the Rome Statute adopted by consensus amendments to the Rome Statute which includes a definition of the Crime of Aggression and determined how the Court will exercise its jurisdiction over the crime.
Read moreOn Friday, 14 May 2010, Spain’s General Council of the Judiciary in an emergency session decided to suspend National Court investigating judge Baltasar Garzón pending his trial for knowingly exceeding his jurisdiction by initiating an investigation into the crimes committed during the country’s civil war and the Franco regime, despite an existing amnesty law.
Read moreFrom May 31st until June 11th 2010, state parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) will meet in Kampala, Uganda for the first Review Conference of the Rome Statute. One of the most important issues on the agenda is the legal definition of the crime of aggression. This blog will discuss some of the legal complexities in finding an international consensus on the definition of this crime.
Read moreThree Hague-based organizations, T.M.C. Asser Institute, the Centre for Terrorism and Counterterrorism of the University of Leiden/Campus Den Haag and the Dutch Institute for International Relations ‘Clingendael’, announced to join forces to set up an independent institute that will contribute to the study and policy-making in the field of counter-terrorism. The institute is financed by [...]
Read moreOn Monday, 14 September, the Specially Appointed Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted French journalist Florence Hartmann for contempt of the Tribunal (Case No. IT-02-54-R77.5, full Judgement [PDF], Judgement Summary [PDF]).
Read moreOn Wednesday, 4 March, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced its decision to issue a warrant for the arrest of the Sudanese President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, for crimes against humanity and war crimes (Read here Decision [PDF], Summary of the Decision [PDF], Arrest Warrant [PDF], and Press Release).
Read moreOn Thursday, 12 February, the International Criminal Court (ICC) informed the media that no decision had yet been taken by the Pre-Trial Chamber on last year’s application of Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo for an arrest warrant against the Sudanese President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The statement came in reaction to an article in the New York Times on Wednesday that the ICC had actually decided to issue the arrest warrant for al –Bashir.
Read moreImpressions of the 60 years Genocide Convention On Sunday 7 and Monday 8 December, The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Center for International Law and the Peace Palace Library organized a conference in The Hague to mark the 60th anniversary of the Genocide Convention. At the conference several legal [...]
Read moreThe Genocide Convention at Sixty!
In 1948 the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide .
To commemorate this fact: 1) A special issue of Case Western Reserve Journal of International law (Vol. 40, 2008, No. 1-2) and 2) two-day conference in The Hague in the Peace Palace
Saturday 23 August marks the UN nineth annual International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
Read moreA report published by President Paul Kagame’s government accuses France of complicity in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, by supporting and training Hutu leaders and their militia carrying out the massacres that killed 800.000 people.
Read moreOn Thursday, 31 July, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1828 (2008) renewing the mandate of UNAMID, the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, for another year (resolution [PDF] and meeting record S/PV.5947 [PDF]).
Read moreOn Thursday, 24 June, the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted Kosovar journalist Baton Haxhiu for contempt of the Tribunal (Case No. IT-04-84-R77.5, judgement [PDF]).
Read moreDuring the night of the 21st of July Radovan Karadžić was located and arrested by Serbian security officers.
Radovan Karadžić is charged with genocide for the murder of close to 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995. The indictment alleges that Radovan Karadžić also committed genocide, persecutions and other crimes when forces under his command killed non-Serbs during and after attacks on towns throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The arrest of Radovan Karadžić was welcomed as a “milestone” by war crimes prosecutors of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [ICTY]in The Hague.
Read moreOn Thursday, 17 July, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) rendered its judgement [PDF document] on the appeals of both the Prosecution and the Defense against the conviction and sentence of the former Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) General Pavle Strugar (Case No. IT-01-42-A).
Read moreOn Monday, 14 July, Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed an application for an arrest warrant and submitted to the Judges of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber evidence of crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur by the Sudanese President, Omar Hassan al-Bashir (Read here the Application for warrant of arrest [PDF]).
Read more On 3 July 2008, the 10th anniversary of the Rome Statute [PDF]of the International Criminal Court was celebrated here, at Peace Palace in The Hague, in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Máxima of the Netherlands.
The event started with speeches of Mr. Maxime Verhagen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands, [...]
More relevant links in Delicious
Gut, T., Counsel Misconduct before the International Criminal Court : Professional Responsibility in International Criminal Defence, Oxford : Hart, 2012.
Schabas, W., Y. McDermott, and N. Hayes (eds.), The Ashgate Research Companion to International Criminal Law: Critical Perspectives, Farnham, Ashgate, 2013.
Carter, L., and F. Pocar (eds.), International Criminal Procedure: The Interface of Civil Law and Common Law Legal Systems, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, 2013.
Schabas, W.A. (ed.), International Criminal Law ( 3 vols), Cheltenham, Elgar, 2012.
Sellars, K., ‘Crimes against Peace’ and International Law, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013.
Abels, D, Prisoners of the International Community: The Legal Position of Persons Detained at International Criminal Tribunals, The Hague, T.M.C. Asser Press/Springer, 2012.
