Criminology 1500 words Assignment
Crimes Against Humanity
Anahita Movassagh Riegler
What we will cover
• What is international criminal law
• What are the core crimes in international criminal law
• What are crimes against humanity?
Discussion
• What is a crime?
• What is criminal law?
• Could it still be immoral if it is legal?
• How is criminal law different to civil law, and how are criminal matters different to civil matters?
• What is international law?
Definitions
• Crime: Behaviours (acts or omissions or intention to act) which have been classified by the State as criminal
• Criminal law: mainly deals with ‘prohibitions addressed to individuals’ which if violated would be punished by the State Robert Cryer, Hakan Friman, Darryl Robinson and Elizabeth Wilmshurst, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and
Procedure (Cambridge University Press, 3rd edition, 2008),P.1
Definitions
• Civil law- plaintiff and defendant- damages or an order
International Law: Is a branch of law that
‘governs the rights and responsibilities of
States’ Robert Cryer, Hakan Friman, Darryl Robinson and Elizabeth Wilmshurst, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (Cambridge University Press, 3rd edition, 2008),P.1.
• International law+ criminal law=?
International Criminal law
• ICL is a set of international rules which prohibits – ‘certain categories of conduct’; and
– Makes ‘those people who engage in such conducts criminally liable’ Cassese, A., et al. (Eds.). (2013). Cassese’s International Criminal Law (3rd ed.). Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. P3
– allows or obligates States to punish such conducts
– Regulates proceedings of such crimes before the international criminal courts- victims rights
6
International Crimes
• International Crimes – War crimes – Crimes against humanity, and – Genocide – Torture and Aggression
• War Crimes: ‘Serious violation’ of customary or treaty rules which belong to the body of IHL (the laws and customs of war) of armed conflict; – People not taking part in armed conflict – Places – Means – Specially protected people – Using protected signs – Children under 15
7
Crime against humanity- History
• Always been an international crime
• Victims are ‘all’ of the human race
• Origin of crimes against humanity
– 1915- Armenians and the Ottoman empire
• Crimes against Christianity and civilization
– Other attempts
8
Crimes Against Humanity
– WWII and crimes against German civilians by Nazi’s
– 1945 and persecution for political or racial purposes not prohibited- London agreement: to bring to trial those guilty of crimes against humanity
• Nexus with crimes against peace, war crimes
• Included any acts against human dignity, even if in accordance to national law
9
Crimes Against Humanity
• 1. ‘odious offences’- attack on human dignity/grave humiliation, degradation
• 2. Widespread or systematic- not necessarily same offence
• 3. Can take place in time of war or peace - 1945 at time of armed conflict
• 4. Against civilians – Under ‘customary intl. law’ against enemy
combatants
10
Authors and victims
• Government authorities , civilians- authors
• Any civilian population- victims
– Also of allied countries
– Previously excluded military but gradually expanded
Crimes Against Humanity
• Objective elements - widespread and systematic
– 1.‘Murder’
– 2.‘Extermination’- includes terrorist attacks
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4T4mLr3odA3.
– 3. ‘Enslavement’
12
Crimes Against Humanity
– 4.‘Deportation or forcible transfer of population…by force or other coercive acts’
– 5.‘Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty’
– 6.‘Torture’- infliction of pain or suffering…in the custody or under the control of the accused
– 7.‘Sexual violence’ • Rape- physical invasion…sexual manner…force
• Sexual slavery
• Enforced prostitution
• Forced pregnancy
13
Crimes Against Humanity
• Enforced sterilization
• Other
– 8.‘persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity…’universally recognized/impermissible grounds of discrimination
– 9.‘Enforced disappearance of of persons’
– 10. ‘Other inhumane acts of a similar character and gravity’- which principle does this one violate?
14