The interpretive process in International Criminal Law (›ICL‹) is characterised by a conflict between the requirements for stability and change. On the one hand, ICL provides for the ›criminal‹ responsibility of individuals. Thus, there is an enhanced requirement for legal certainty: According to the principle of legality, the addressee of the law must be able to identify the prohibited conduct in advance in order to be able to avoid criminal sanctions. On the other hand, however, ICL forms part of ›international‹ law. Hence, it derives to some extent from international treaties. Whereas the forms of criminal conduct are continuously evolving, treaties are rather static instruments – they cannot be adapted to a changing environment within a short period of time. Thus, reality is developing at a pace that the law cannot always match. In consequence, there is a certain need to account for evolving circumstances within the framework of interpretation. The aim of this book is to review the consequences of this conflict for the interpretation of ICL. How can the conflicting requirements be brought into balance? Can substantive rules of ICL be interpreted in a ›dynamic‹ fashion to the detriment of the accused without violating the principle of legality? How do international criminal courts and tribunals deal with this issue?
Summary: "Written by seasoned scholars and practitioners, this collection of essays provides a most comprehensive analysis of the institutional dynamics and political underpinnings of international criminal justice.
This book delivers a central and dynamic interpretation of the imperative philosophy of international criminal justice and how it struggles to defend the body of international human rights law.
This book is dedicated to the memory of Sir Richard May, who passed away on 1 July 2004, and to the rich legacy he has left behind in the area of international criminal law.
This book offers the first detailed analysis of, and guide to, the interpretation of international crimes defined in the Rome Statute.
Graduate students studying international criminal law, international human rights or international humanitarian law as well as those studying international justice, international politics, international organization or public policy ...
The book not only takes stock of the procedural legacy of the UN ad hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and the International Criminal Court, but also reflects on the future directions of international criminal procedure.
This third edition builds on the highly-successful work of the previous editions, setting out the general principles governing international crimes as well as the fundamentals of both substantive and procedural international criminal law.
This volume deals with the tension between unity and diversification which has gained a central place in the debate under the label of ‘fragmentation’.
By means of empirical research and jurisprudential analysis, this book explores the implications that conducting a trial in more than one language can have for the right to fair trial.
seeking the truth.96 He performs his task in view of the principle of the judge's freedom to evaluate the evidence.97 According to this principle, judges in Germany are not bound by technical rules of evidence. This has sometimes led to ...