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Bubacar Jallow, Justice Hassan --- "The ICTR’s elaboration of the core international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and modes of liability" [2016] ELECD 1525; in de Brouwer, Anne-Marie; Smeulers, Alette (eds), "The Elgar Companion to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) 447

Book Title: The Elgar Companion to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

Editor(s): de Brouwer, Anne-Marie; Smeulers, Alette

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781784711696

Section: Chapter 15

Section Title: The ICTR’s elaboration of the core international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and modes of liability

Author(s): Bubacar Jallow, Justice Hassan

Number of pages: 41

Abstract/Description:

International criminal law is part of public international law, but is of relatively recent origin. Although there are various precursors of international criminal law, including the post-World War II efforts at Nuremberg, where international law was invoked in the prosecution of alleged war criminals, it was not until the establishment of the UN ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda in the 1990s that it may be more safely said that a regime of law called international criminal law had evolved. Although general international law recognizes states as objects of international law, international criminal law imposes obligations directly on individuals and without the intermediary of the state, by holding transgressors criminally culpable. On this, the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal held that, ‘the essence of the [Tribunal’s] Charter is that individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience imposed by the individual state’. Furthermore, the tribunal underscored that crimes against international law are not committed by abstract entities, but by individuals, who must account individually in order to enforce international law. Although the scope or list of international crimes has generated contentions, it may be argued that international crimes comprise of offences which treaty or customary international law either prescribes, or requires states to criminalize, prosecute and/or punish. Professor Bassiouni has identified over 20 categories of international crimes, from aggression to such crimes as bribery of foreign public officials.