Core International Crimes

Core International Crimes

Introduction

Thank you so much to Greg, Nicole, and PILPG for inviting me to do this interview about the definitions of crimes against humanity and genocide.  It is a fascinating topic, and it's a real privilege to have an opportunity to talk about these crimes today.  I want to set the stage for my discussion of these particular international crimes by talking briefly about what an international crime is generally. 

When we talk about international crimes, there are very many ways to use this term. And here I'm going to be using it in the sense that is often called core international crimes, or sometimes atrocity crimes. And this refers essentially to the four crimes that are within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which are genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. 

There is a lot of interesting history about how it came to be that these are the four core international crimes that we will not have time to get into today, but I do want to note some of the consequences of labeling a crime international. Why is it that we have this particular label in the law and what are the types of things that can flow from the label?

What is a Core International Crime?

One of the most important is when we call a crime a core international crime, it means that it is a crime that is legitimately within the jurisdiction of an international court or tribunal. 

As I mentioned before, the International Criminal Court, which is the preeminent international tribunal, is in fact tasked with adjudicating these four core crimes.

Another consequence that can flow from labeling a crime international is that it may be subject to universal jurisdiction.

Universal Jurisdiction

Universal jurisdiction is a kind of jurisdiction that all states can exercise by virtue of the crimes being of interest to the international community as a whole.  This form of jurisdiction is very controversial and I will not get into the details of that. But it is important to note that these core crimes are typically considered to be crimes of universal jurisdiction.

So states can adjudicate the crimes, even when the crimes did not occur on their territory nor were committed by their nationals or against their nationals. 

In other words, they may not have any real connection to the crime and yet they are permitted to adjudicate the crime. 

Obligation to Extradite or Prosecute

Another consequence that flows from categorizing a crime as international is that states may actually have an obligation to extradite or prosecute somebody found on their territory who is accused or suspected of having committed one of these crimes.  

Responsibility to Protect

And another consequence is that the doctrine of responsibility to protect may apply.

The responsibility to protect doctrine is a doctrine that holds that states actually have an obligation to try to prevent certain kinds of crimes. In particular, these core crimes or atrocity crimes.

And when states fail in their obligations to prevent these crimes internally within their territories or the territories that they control, other states have an obligation to get together to seek to prevent these crimes.  In particular by going through the Security Council and obtaining a Security Council resolution. Perhaps even preventing these crimes by force. Again, if there is such a resolution. 

Inapplicability of Certain Defenses

So very important consequences can flow. And one last consequence that I will mention is that some of the typical defenses that apply to most crimes are not available for these core crimes or atrocity crimes. And those can include certain kinds of immunities, statute of limitations and the like. 

Conclusion

So it is important to keep in mind when we talk about the definitions of these crimes that what we are doing is putting them into this category of core international crimes. And the definitions ought to be crafted in such a way that it justifies this kind of categorization and these kinds of consequences.