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thesis on international criminal court
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THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)
The International Criminal Court (ICC), located in The Hague, is the court of last resort for prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, entered into force on July 1, 2002. Over the last decade the court has made significant headway in putting international justice on the map. As of June 2015, the ICC had 123 states parties, had opened investigations in eight countries, and had issued three verdicts. But while the ICC is now responsible for international criminal accountability, its daunting mandate and world-wide reach have made the its flaws more visible. The court and its member countries face major challenges in meeting expanded expectations for the court in its second decade.
ICC Criminal Law
1. Introduction
The ICC has revolutionized international
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Historical approach to victims' participation
To understand the changes the ICC brings to this area, it is necessary to outline the historic approaches to the role of victims in criminal proceedings. There are some important conceptual differences between the common and civil law traditions. Many civil law jurisdictions allow victims "to participate directly in proceedings". The approach of common law countries is different and "criminal prosecution is seen as essentially a matter of public policy in which victims have a role that is marginal at the best of times."
The early approach towards victims under international criminal law followed common law thinking "and had relatively little to say with respect to victims". The example of this approach was the Nüremberg tribunal, which largely ignored the interests and needs of the victims.
The view towards victims' participation is different today, influenced by a number of factors: the need to rehabilitate the victims, strengthen their marginal role in the adversarial criminal justice systems and protect the rights of the most vulnerable groups – women and
...an, Payam. "Are International Criminal Tribunals a Disincentive to Peace?: Reconciling Judicial Romanticism with Political Realism." Human Rights Quarterly 31 (2009): 624-54.
The criminal trial process is able to reflect the moral and ethical standards of society to a great extent. For the law to be effective, the criminal trial process must reflect what is accepted by society to be a breach of moral and ethical conduct and the extent to which protections are granted to the victims, the offenders and the community. For these reasons, the criminal trial process is effectively able to achieve this in the areas of the adversary system, the system of appeals, legal aid and the jury system.
Back some couple centuries ago, genocide committed by states was seen as heroic, as they were allowed to commit such an atrocity in pursuit of building a larger empire (Lecture 9/18). Keep in mind, that the term “genocide” had not been officially defined by that time, thus not containing the same meaning as it does today. Instead of being seen as evil, states that committed genocide were seen as heroic. In-fact, William Blackstone once said “the king can do no wrong is a necessary and fundamental principal of the English constitution (Lecture 9/18). It wasn’t until 1948, that the term “genocide” had been officially labeled as an official term and international crime. This was declared by the United Nations. One of the first trials to occur due to this was the Nuremberg Trials. In the Nuremberg Trials, twenty-four Nazi leaders and six Nazi organizations were convicted on four counts (Lecture 9/18). Of those twenty-four convicted, twelve of those people were sentenced to the death penalty for the crimes they had committed. Fast-forwarding to the 90’s, 120 countries had signed an international treaty that established the International Court. The International Court was established in 1998 as a result of the treaty and it gave the ICC the jurisdiction to prosecute any related Genocide crimes (History.com). Before I move on
Secondly, dominant ideologies in the media represent criminals as demoralized and dangerous individuals while, on the other hand, police officers are depicted as “honest and heroic public servants” (Hirschfield and Simon 2010: 155). In turn, these forms of ideologies lead to individuals blaming the victims for their experienced abuse. In addition, according to William Ryan (1976: 3) the formula for blaming the victim is, “justifying inequality by finding defects in the victims of inequality”. In other words, blaming the victim occurs when the victim of a crime is held accountable for the violence that they endured. Thus, the victim of the crime is blamed for his or her suffering. In addition, as mentioned above, dominant ideologies which
According to Nash, the definition of “victim” is a slippery concept. Nast notes that as a matter of law, whether someone is a victim of a crime may depend, among other things, on the type and extent of injury sustained, the tenuousness of the connection of injury to the offender’s conduct, and whether the victim was at fault in the criminal transactions. Nash also note that that the term, “victim” is inconsistently applied in the various arenas of federal criminal law. While the definitions of “victim found in the federal restitution and victim’s rights statutes are functionally identical, the federal Rules of Criminal Procedure define “victim” differently. (Wallace; Roberson
The code offered more for victims as each criminal justice agency had to declare their services for victims. This comprised of the eligibility for compensation, information regarding the status of the case and furthermore having legal support via a Victim Personal Statement explain the impacts of the crime in court (Victim support, 2004). The year 2004 triggered of major transformation with the Strategic Plan for Criminal Justice and cemented the role of the victims at the centre of the criminal justice system. This reassuring role of the government is set to remain after the publication of `Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses` in 2012. The reform included resources and support for victims and meeting the needs of several communities across the United Kingdom (Great Britain: Ministry of Justice, 2012). The advancement of society in conjunction with government changes has not only raised victim issues but over the years vitally implemented these
Victims have unquestionably been catalysts for a number of the most far-reaching reforms in the Criminal Justice System. Apart from punishing offenders, justice also requires that victims of crime must receive a lot of support in order for them to not be isolated and alienated from both the Criminal Justice System and the community. Historically some victims of crime have not been given enough consideration and therefore have been neglected. Throughout the recent years community awareness in relation to the need of victims receiving enough recognition and attention, increased. This led to the creation of such reforms in the Criminal Justice System. In this essay I will begin by defining what a victim is, then i all give some examples of reforms
Generally, the study of crime mainly focused on the offender until quite recently. In fact, Shapland et al (1985) described the victim as ‘the forgotten man’ of the criminal justice system and ‘the non-person in the eyes of the professional participants’. A new perspective was brought with victimology, an expanding sub-discipline of crimin...
Wolhuter, Lorraine, Neil Olley, and David Denham. Victimology: victimisation and victims’ rights. London: Routledge-Cavendish, 2009.
Across the world, there are a great deal of people that are likely to become victims of offenses against themselves or their property. The criminal justice system is used to govern crimes and impose penalties on individuals that may violate laws. The criminal justice system is made up of different agencies that include: law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. Within this paper, I will discuss the roles of the prosecutor, the defense attorney, the criminal, and the victim and how victimization affects each role. Also, I will inform you about the goals of sentencing associated with each role. The goals of alternative sanctions will be discussed. I will also let u know what recommendations I have regarding victims’ rights.
“On November 21, 1947, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution 174 (II), establishing the International Law Commission and approving its statute.”[2] The International Law Commission encourages the development of international law and its codification. The Commission deals primarily with public international law, but also hears private cases as well.[3] International law is applied within an international community, such as the United Nations, and functions to define the proper norms or standards for members to abide by in a collective manner. Examples of such standards could be a ruling on The Universal Declaration of Human Rights or on threats to peace within the International Community.
The consideration of victims by policy makers has taken a much larger role in influencing legislative change in the prevention of crime and the assistance of crime victims, however reforms based on victims remain largely localised to popularised cases and often fail to enter the trial side of the criminal justice system. Victims have the capacity to act as catalysts for reform, but their treatment and consideration in the criminal justice system continues to act more as an indicator of success by the system.
...th 2001). Roth argues that the concept of international jurisdiction is not a new idea but was exercised by the US government in the 1970 after an aircraft hijacking. Also the war crime courts established after the end of World War II exercised international jurisdiction. In fact the Geneva Convention states that is a person regardless of their nationality should be brought before the court of any state in which that person has committed grave breaches of law and convention. Roth states that the concept of international jurisdiction is not a new one but that only in recent years have states been willing to act on universal jurisdiction and go after criminals of the international community regardless of their stating or power within the international community. Roth believes in the ability and authority of international organizations and institutions (Roth 2001).
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is an important organ of the United Nations. Actually it is the UN's principal judicial arm used to foster international peace. It was established after the League of the Nation and its judicial organ the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) were dissolved after the Second World War, in 1946. Its main purpose is to support the UN (which was formed in 1945) in its endeavour in promoting international peace and law . Important to note is the fact that this court, although referred to in a non-technical context as the world court, does not automatically possess compulsory international jurisdiction. The treaty creating this court, referred to as the stature of international court of justice, provides an option for member states to chose whether to be subjected to the court international compulsory jurisdiction or not. A state once it decides to be subjected to this compulsory jurisdiction is still at liberty of setting condition that will shield it against adverse implication of the subjection. This provision gives mainly powerful states undue advantage over less powerful ones when it comes to international matters. For instance they can easily decide not to attend the court proceeding, and if they attend they refuse to abide to the court ruling without facing serious implications .
The international law is the fundamental basis of sovereignty and equality of all states. It promotes peace, order, and justice to the international society. The effectiveness of the international law is also anchored to the international community whether they will follow or not. It is important that international community has rules and obligation to follow in order to prevent chaos in the society. The development of international law led to the understanding of different policies and sanctions for the states. It deals with conflict of the states to relieve destructive conflict. The international law is agreed upon by the international community but there is no enforcing body unlike in the domestic law. State has been relying to treaties and international agreements for the prevention of war.