Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures and Maps
- Crimes Against Humanity Initiative: Steering Committee
- Biographies of Contributors
- Foreword
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- Crimes Against Humanity and the Responsibility to Protect
- 1 History of Efforts to Codify Crimes Against Humanity
- 2 The Universal Repression of Crimes Against Humanity before National Jurisdictions
- 3 Revisiting the Architecture of Crimes Against Humanity
- 4 The Bright Red Thread
- 5 Gender-Based Crimes Against Humanity
- 6 “Chapeau Elements” of Crimes Against Humanity in the Jurisprudence of the UN Ad Hoc Tribunals
- 7 The Definition of Crimes Against Humanity and the Question of a “Policy” Element
- 8 Ethnic Cleansing as Euphemism, Metaphor, Criminology, and Law
- 9 Immunities and Amnesties
- 10 Modes of Participation
- 11 Terrorism and Crimes Against Humanity
- 12 Crimes Against Humanity and the International Criminal Court
- 13 Crimes Against Humanity and the Responsibility to Protect
- 14 Re-enforcing Enforcement in a Specialized Convention on Crimes Against Humanity
- 15 Why the World Needs an International Convention on Crimes Against Humanity
- Appendices
- Testimonials and Endorsements
- Index
- References
2 - The Universal Repression of Crimes Against Humanity before National Jurisdictions
The Need for a Treaty-Based Obligation to Prosecute
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures and Maps
- Crimes Against Humanity Initiative: Steering Committee
- Biographies of Contributors
- Foreword
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- Crimes Against Humanity and the Responsibility to Protect
- 1 History of Efforts to Codify Crimes Against Humanity
- 2 The Universal Repression of Crimes Against Humanity before National Jurisdictions
- 3 Revisiting the Architecture of Crimes Against Humanity
- 4 The Bright Red Thread
- 5 Gender-Based Crimes Against Humanity
- 6 “Chapeau Elements” of Crimes Against Humanity in the Jurisprudence of the UN Ad Hoc Tribunals
- 7 The Definition of Crimes Against Humanity and the Question of a “Policy” Element
- 8 Ethnic Cleansing as Euphemism, Metaphor, Criminology, and Law
- 9 Immunities and Amnesties
- 10 Modes of Participation
- 11 Terrorism and Crimes Against Humanity
- 12 Crimes Against Humanity and the International Criminal Court
- 13 Crimes Against Humanity and the Responsibility to Protect
- 14 Re-enforcing Enforcement in a Specialized Convention on Crimes Against Humanity
- 15 Why the World Needs an International Convention on Crimes Against Humanity
- Appendices
- Testimonials and Endorsements
- Index
- References
Summary
INTRODUCTION
The fascination of jurists with international criminal tribunals has often eclipsed the fundamental role of national jurisdictions in eradicating impunity for crimes against humanity. The practice of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR) has demonstrated that the inordinate cost and length of proceedings impose a serious limitation on the quantity of trials. Both tribunals were supplemented by other jurisdictions, such as the war crimes chambers in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo and national trials and traditional gacaca proceedings in Rwanda. The “complementarity” scheme of the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC Statute) has institutionalized the primary responsibility of national courts in prosecuting international crimes. Beyond the confines of the ICC, however, the scope of responsibility of domestic jurisdictions in international law is clearly incongruent with a partnership between national and international courts. In particular, there is a conspicuous normative lacuna in the repression of crimes against humanity based on the exercise of universal jurisdiction by national courts. The creation of such an obligation may be the single most important argument in favor of the adoption of an International Convention on Crimes Against Humanity (Convention).
The principle of “universal jurisdiction” was proposed but expressly rejected by the drafters of the ICC Statute. Instead, with the exception of referrals by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, ICC jurisdiction is limited to those instances where crimes are committed either on the territory of a State Party or by its nationals.
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- Forging a Convention for Crimes against Humanity , pp. 28 - 42Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011