Book contents
- Why Punish Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities?
- ASIL Studies in International Legal Theory
- Why Punish Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities?
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction: The Need for a Robust and Consistent Theory of International Punishment
- 2 The Practical Importance of Theories of Punishment in International Criminal Law
- Part I Setting the Framework: Criminological, Historical and Domestic Perspectives
- Part II Rationales for Punishment in International Criminal Law: Theoretical Perspectives
- 9 ‘Can I Be Brought before the ICC?’
- 10 An Argument for Retributivism in International Criminal Law
- 11 An Expressive Theory of International Punishment for International Crimes
- 12 We’re Exhausting Ourselves, Let’s Get Busy Instead
- 13 Positive General Prevention and the Idea of Civic Courage in International Criminal Law
- 14 The Individual and the International Community
- 15 The Right to Punishment for International Crimes
- Part III Consequences for the Practice of the International Criminal Court
- Select Bibliography
- Index
9 - ‘Can I Be Brought before the ICC?’
Deterrence of Mass Atrocities between Jus in Bello and Jus ad Bellum
from Part II - Rationales for Punishment in International Criminal Law: Theoretical Perspectives
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 February 2020
- Why Punish Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities?
- ASIL Studies in International Legal Theory
- Why Punish Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities?
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction: The Need for a Robust and Consistent Theory of International Punishment
- 2 The Practical Importance of Theories of Punishment in International Criminal Law
- Part I Setting the Framework: Criminological, Historical and Domestic Perspectives
- Part II Rationales for Punishment in International Criminal Law: Theoretical Perspectives
- 9 ‘Can I Be Brought before the ICC?’
- 10 An Argument for Retributivism in International Criminal Law
- 11 An Expressive Theory of International Punishment for International Crimes
- 12 We’re Exhausting Ourselves, Let’s Get Busy Instead
- 13 Positive General Prevention and the Idea of Civic Courage in International Criminal Law
- 14 The Individual and the International Community
- 15 The Right to Punishment for International Crimes
- Part III Consequences for the Practice of the International Criminal Court
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Jakob v.H. Holtermann addresses the question whether or not we have reason to believe that the ICC can deter potential perpetrators of international crimes, in particular the crime of aggression taking the Danish and British involvement in the Iraq War as an example, and he believes we have good reason to do so. As a ‘normativist’ he criticises the critics of deterrence, and their, in his view, too demanding burden of proof regarding a deterrent effect: It is not about conclusive evidence, but about levels of probability. And just like in domestic criminal law, we have reason to believe that the threat of international punishment has a deterrent effect. The domestic analogy does not break down, despite the differences between domestic, i.e., ‘ordinary’ and international crimes. In Holtermann’s view these differences should not be exaggerated, and he argues that the main difference lies in the absence on the international level of anything resembling a state’s monopoly of force. In the end, he argues that the ICC is one preventive measure among others, like a slice of Swiss cheese, i.e., with holes, or one component of a ‘broad spectrum’ drug, and that taken together – with other slices of Swiss cheese, or other components of a broad spectrum’ drug – these measures cause a deterrent effect.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Why Punish Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities?Purposes of Punishment in International Criminal Law, pp. 137 - 160Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
- 1
- Cited by