The course will explore the developments in international criminal law, including criminal responsibility of individuals under international law and the correlative development of national and international mechanisms for its enforcement. Attention will be focused essentially on the so called "Nuremberg crimes" and on their subsequent developments, even though reference will also be made to other international/trans-national crimes such as acts of terrorism, on the basis of the time available.  The analysis of the criminal prosecution of international crimes will be centred on the most recent case-law of both national courts and international criminal courts. The application and interpretation of some general principles and notions of (international) criminal law by domestic and international courts will be assessed, including an analysis of the objective and the subjective element of a crime, non-retroactivity of criminal offences, defences and grounds for excluding criminal responsibility. Reference will also be made to forms of implementation other than criminal prosecution (e.g. truth and reconciliation commission), as well as to the question of amnesties.

This course aims to:

• provide an understanding the (contested) field of international criminal law and its basic concepts and methodologies
• provide an understanding of the evolution of the concept of international crime, starting from piracy juris gentium and the development of the laws and customs of war
• explore the contribution made to the development of international criminal law by the Nuremberg and Tokyo International Military Tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the International Criminal Court, as well as ‘hybrid' tribunals, and to consider the legal and political questions to which those proceedings gave rise
• examine the different international and national procedures for prosecuting or otherwise dealing with international crimes, and the political and legal determinants of those procedures, also with regard to their enforcement
• examine the role played by the United Nations and its subsidiary bodies in the development of international criminal law
• provide an introduction to sources and methods of research in the field of international criminal law.

The proposed means of assessment for this course will provide students with the option of undertaking at least two pieces of assessment, including one piece during the semester.  More information about the means of assessment, including the relationship between the assessment and the learning outcomes of the course, will be available on the course home page by the first week of semester.

International Law LAWS2250.
Completed or completing five LAWS courses at 1000 level.

Please refer to LAWS2252 course home page.