International Criminal Law Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards on International Criminal Law

ICL

International Criminal Law; field of law where individuals can be held responsible/liable for violations of international norms.

ICC&T

International courts and tribunals that have legal bases found in international law instruments, not domestic legislations.

Nuremberg Tribunal

First international criminal tribunal established after WWII to prosecute Nazi acts; based on the London Agreement.

Jurisdiction of Nuremberg Tribunal

Crimes within subject matter jurisdiction of the Nuremberg Tribunal: crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Tokyo Tribunal

Tribunal established to prosecute leaders of Japan for WWII crimes, instrument was a special proclamation by GMC.

Nullum crimen sine lege

Principle stating that one should not be accused and punished for crimes that did not exist at the time they were committed.

Victorious justice

Tribunal that only prosecutes one side of a conflict; judges and prosecuted individuals are not of the same nationality.

Personal immunity (ratione personae)

Immunity that only applies to highest ranking officials: head of state, head of government, minister of foreign affairs

Functional immunity (ratione materiae)

Immunity that applies to all state officials

ICTY

Established by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to prosecute those responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law in the former Yugoslavia.

ICTR

Established to prosecute individuals responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law in Rwanda.

Ad Hoc Tribunals

Tribunals established for the prosecution of specific instances of international crimes happening during a certain time period.

ICC

Permanent international court established by the Rome Statute to prosecute individuals for the most serious crimes of international concern.

Ratione materiae ICC

Crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

Genocide

The specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.

Crimes against humanity

Crimes committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.

War crimes

Serious violations of international humanitarian law applicable during armed conflict.

Crime of aggression

Use of force that, by its character, gravity, and scale, constitutes a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations.

Ratione personae

The court exercises jurisdiction over natural persons, not states or companies, and not those under age 18.

Principle of complementarity

The principle that the ICC only exercises jurisdiction if a state is unwilling or unable to genuinely carry out the investigation or prosecution.

ICL sui generis

ICC isn't only containing prohibitions, but also general principles of criminal law - a mix of international law and criminal law.