Criminal Law

The Annotated Digest of the International Criminal Court is an annual or biennial series, which compiles a selection of the most significant legal findings rendered in public decisions of the International Criminal Court. It is devised, first and foremost, as a reference tool for academics and practitioners of international criminal law to enable efficient and thorough research of ICC jurisprudence.

Although a number of serious crimes have been recognized and defined as international in nature most obviously genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity - no universal code of procedural law can be said to govern the conduct of international criminal trials. This important new books takes a giant step toward the development of such a code through an in-depth analysis of actual procedure before existing international and internationalized courts - the International Military Tribunal for Nuremberg and Tokyo (1945), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), and the East Timor Special Panels for Serious Crimes. The author also explores and clarifies the crucial role of human rights law, especially as it has evolved in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in the field of international criminal procedural law. Any professional, official, or academic concerned with ensuring the highest standards of international justice will find this book rewarding and useful, Practitioners and policymakers in any criminal justice system will appreciate the detailed practical evaluation and guidance provided here.

The world's first permanent international criminal tribunal for the prosecution and punishment of the world's most serious crimes was created in 2002. In Bringing Power to Justice? legal scholars, political scientists, and political philosophers respond to fundamental questions about the future of this court and international criminal justice. For instance, will the ICC be undermined by political constraints, given the opposition of major powers, including the United States? What are the implications of holding heads of state responsible for international crimes? Are trials the best response to state crime or would other devices (such as truth commissions) be more suitable? Is retributive justice an appropriate response? The contributors offer indispensable and thoughtful assessment of the future of international criminal justice.

The creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998 represented an important step in the international effort to repress genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. As there has been enormous scholarly discussion of the ICC, it is difficult and time-consuming to obtain the best writing on the subject. This volume collects the foremost analyses of each part of the ICC to form a convenient reference tool for all those wishing to understand perhaps the most important legal development of the past two decades.

International sentencing has become significant given the numerous events on the world stage which have focused attention on the justifications and adequacy of punishment for heinous crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity. In addition to providing a detailed evaluation of the philosophical and theoretical difficulties raised by this rapidly developing area of international criminal justice, this book provides an integrated socio-legal analysis of the law and process of international sentencing. It considers the rationale and development of international sentencing structures and processes, the nature and scope of legal and procedural constraints on decision making, as well as access to justice and rights issues. The book discusses sentencing within the context of international criminal law and examines internationalized trial processes and alternative mechanisms for resolution. In seeking to comprehend the punishment of international crimes through the comparative contextual analysis of trial processes, it challenges our present understanding of how and why particular sentencing outcomes are produced and the perceived legitimacy of international trial justice.

This comparative study focuses on the legislative methods and techniques used in 12 countries to give effect to the International Criminal Court. The text covers both common law as well as civil law countries: Argentina; Brazil; South Africa; The Netherlands; Liechtenstein; France; Sweden; Germany; Norway; Italy; Canada; and the UK. The practice of each state forms a chapter focusing on constitutional, sovereign, and criminal issues. Two additional chapters discuss such issues now facing Japan and Mexico.

This book provides a comprehensive guide to the jurisprudence of the criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR), Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on procedural and evidential matters. The book contains a digest of relevant decisions, orders and judgments (which are collectively referred to as “decisions”) of the ICTY, ICTR, the Special Court (hereinafter “ad hoc Tribunals”), the ICC, and the ECHR. The CD-ROM which accompanies this book includes the decisions themselves, which are organised topically on it. The book also includes relevant provisions from the Statutes and Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the ad hoc Tribunals and the ICC, as well as the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). The book, together with the collections of decisions, will assist practitioners and researchers in studying the jurisprudence of the Tribunals. This jurisprudence reflects the current state of international criminal law. It will inevitably influence approaches of international courts, including the ICC and "hybrid" tribunals, as well as national courts.