After a contentious path, the amendment incorporating biological weapons into Article 8 of the ICC Statute was finally adopted in 2017. Since then, 18 states have ratified the amendment. This article examines the amendment in light of national provisions addressing the use of biological weapons in armed conflict. By discussing the national provisions before and after the amendment, it is possible to determine the effect of the amendment on subsequent national provisions. Combined with an analysis of states’ rationale for adopting relevant legislation, it is possible to assess the impact on state practice and consequently understand the significance of adopting an amendment to the ICC Statute and incorporating it into national legislation for the development or confirmation of customary international law. The lessons learned in the process could be applied to other existing or future amendments.
{"title":"The Biological Weapons Amendment to the ICC Statute and National Provisions","authors":"Barry de Vries","doi":"10.1093/jicj/mqae033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqae033","url":null,"abstract":"After a contentious path, the amendment incorporating biological weapons into Article 8 of the ICC Statute was finally adopted in 2017. Since then, 18 states have ratified the amendment. This article examines the amendment in light of national provisions addressing the use of biological weapons in armed conflict. By discussing the national provisions before and after the amendment, it is possible to determine the effect of the amendment on subsequent national provisions. Combined with an analysis of states’ rationale for adopting relevant legislation, it is possible to assess the impact on state practice and consequently understand the significance of adopting an amendment to the ICC Statute and incorporating it into national legislation for the development or confirmation of customary international law. The lessons learned in the process could be applied to other existing or future amendments.","PeriodicalId":46732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Criminal Justice","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142258857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Ongwen case has so far involved one of the largest number of victims represented before the International Criminal Court, both in terms of participation in trial proceedings (4,095) and potential beneficiaries for reparations (49,772). This piece offers some new insights following the trial from victims represented by both victim legal teams that are not captured in victims’ statements or submissions before the Court. It draws on additional interviews with victims after the completion of the trial and sentencing, but before the reparation order issued in the case. It focuses on three elements — victims’ role in proceedings; how victims felt they were represented before the Court; and victims’ satisfaction with the outcome of the proceedings.
{"title":"Victims’ Perspectives on Participation in the Ongwen Case","authors":"Paolina Massidda, Joseph Akwenyu, Luke Moffett","doi":"10.1093/jicj/mqae035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqae035","url":null,"abstract":"The Ongwen case has so far involved one of the largest number of victims represented before the International Criminal Court, both in terms of participation in trial proceedings (4,095) and potential beneficiaries for reparations (49,772). This piece offers some new insights following the trial from victims represented by both victim legal teams that are not captured in victims’ statements or submissions before the Court. It draws on additional interviews with victims after the completion of the trial and sentencing, but before the reparation order issued in the case. It focuses on three elements — victims’ role in proceedings; how victims felt they were represented before the Court; and victims’ satisfaction with the outcome of the proceedings.","PeriodicalId":46732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Criminal Justice","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142197571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The trial of Dominic Ongwen before the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been hailed as a milestone, especially because of his conviction for gender-based crimes, including forced marriage and forced pregnancy. Ongwen’s conviction for those crimes was linked to harrowing testimonies of a group of women who were given to him as so-called ‘wives’ during his time as a commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group. After a successful Article 56 application by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), special arrangements were made for these women to act as witnesses in advance of the trial in the Hague, and various assurances were provided to them. Based on ethnographic engagement and in-depth interviews with these witnesses, this article contributes to the literature on witnesses in international criminal trials, and the complexities of victimhood, describing their experiences of testifying, their views about justice, and their current lives. It notes the lack of adequate protection and benefits that have accrued to them. Interviews also occurred with ‘wives’ who testified for the Defence, whose accounts of their experiences are relatively more positive. Concerns are raised about the ICC’s capacity to fulfil basic expectations of victims of the sexual crimes it successfully prosecutes.
{"title":"Witnessing Ongwen","authors":"Jackline Atingo, Tim Allen, Anna Macdonald","doi":"10.1093/jicj/mqae029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqae029","url":null,"abstract":"The trial of Dominic Ongwen before the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been hailed as a milestone, especially because of his conviction for gender-based crimes, including forced marriage and forced pregnancy. Ongwen’s conviction for those crimes was linked to harrowing testimonies of a group of women who were given to him as so-called ‘wives’ during his time as a commander in the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group. After a successful Article 56 application by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), special arrangements were made for these women to act as witnesses in advance of the trial in the Hague, and various assurances were provided to them. Based on ethnographic engagement and in-depth interviews with these witnesses, this article contributes to the literature on witnesses in international criminal trials, and the complexities of victimhood, describing their experiences of testifying, their views about justice, and their current lives. It notes the lack of adequate protection and benefits that have accrued to them. Interviews also occurred with ‘wives’ who testified for the Defence, whose accounts of their experiences are relatively more positive. Concerns are raised about the ICC’s capacity to fulfil basic expectations of victims of the sexual crimes it successfully prosecutes.","PeriodicalId":46732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Criminal Justice","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142197573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The International Criminal Court’s outreach office remains a central pillar to the legitimacy and relevance of the Court’s activities aimed towards victims’ constituencies. However, the Court’s outreach programmes in the Ongwen case are constrained by a communication strategy used in the context of a fledgling communication infrastructure in northern Uganda. We rely on primary qualitative interviews with victims of Ongwen’s atrocities at Lukodi, Pajule, and Odek to reflect on the need for contextualized outreach activities that are responsive to the needs of victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency.
{"title":"The Ongwen Case at the International Criminal Court as a Test of the Court’s Outreach Programming in Northern Uganda","authors":"Dennis Jjuuko, Francis Opio","doi":"10.1093/jicj/mqae031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqae031","url":null,"abstract":"The International Criminal Court’s outreach office remains a central pillar to the legitimacy and relevance of the Court’s activities aimed towards victims’ constituencies. However, the Court’s outreach programmes in the Ongwen case are constrained by a communication strategy used in the context of a fledgling communication infrastructure in northern Uganda. We rely on primary qualitative interviews with victims of Ongwen’s atrocities at Lukodi, Pajule, and Odek to reflect on the need for contextualized outreach activities that are responsive to the needs of victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency.","PeriodicalId":46732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Criminal Justice","volume":"171 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142197572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tomas Hamilton, Natalie Lucas, Alex Prezanti, Megan Smith, Amanda Strayer
The growth of ‘Magnitsky-style’ targeted sanctions has ushered in a new chapter in the history of sanctions practice that places civil society actors in an increasingly empowered position. The development of new legal and policy frameworks in several jurisdictions, led by the USA, has formalized an active role for civil society in governments’ sanction designation processes. By creating a legal framework for civil society engagement, the US Magnitsky laws enshrined the importance of civil society as a source of evidence on human rights and corruption issues into law. This article draws on the experience and observations of, and interviews with, sanctions practitioners who have witnessed the increasing role that civil society is taking in Magnitsky-style sanctions. The article begins by asking why civil society engages with targeted sanctions, before examining the legal and policy frameworks through which civil society actors engage with governments. It looks at five jurisdictions where civil society is taking an active role, the USA, UK, European Union, Canada, and Australia. The article describes the emergence of ‘sanctions clearing houses’ — organizations that act as intermediaries between global civil society and the governments with which they are trying to engage. The article considers present civil society perspectives on current barriers to engagement with sanctions regimes and concludes by emphasizing the importance of civil society engagement in this area, providing recommendations to foster this engagement.
{"title":"Targeted Sanctions as a Pathway to Accountability","authors":"Tomas Hamilton, Natalie Lucas, Alex Prezanti, Megan Smith, Amanda Strayer","doi":"10.1093/jicj/mqae027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqae027","url":null,"abstract":"The growth of ‘Magnitsky-style’ targeted sanctions has ushered in a new chapter in the history of sanctions practice that places civil society actors in an increasingly empowered position. The development of new legal and policy frameworks in several jurisdictions, led by the USA, has formalized an active role for civil society in governments’ sanction designation processes. By creating a legal framework for civil society engagement, the US Magnitsky laws enshrined the importance of civil society as a source of evidence on human rights and corruption issues into law. This article draws on the experience and observations of, and interviews with, sanctions practitioners who have witnessed the increasing role that civil society is taking in Magnitsky-style sanctions. The article begins by asking why civil society engages with targeted sanctions, before examining the legal and policy frameworks through which civil society actors engage with governments. It looks at five jurisdictions where civil society is taking an active role, the USA, UK, European Union, Canada, and Australia. The article describes the emergence of ‘sanctions clearing houses’ — organizations that act as intermediaries between global civil society and the governments with which they are trying to engage. The article considers present civil society perspectives on current barriers to engagement with sanctions regimes and concludes by emphasizing the importance of civil society engagement in this area, providing recommendations to foster this engagement.","PeriodicalId":46732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Criminal Justice","volume":"157 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141933516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Civil society has long been a key actor in the pursuit of accountability. Moreover, civil society has often helped define what accountability is and how to achieve it. This symposium looks at various contributions made by civil society organizations to the international justice landscape. First, as pioneers in establishing international tribunals or justice mechanisms and intervening in cases before them, and secondly, through contributing to emerging alternative processes. These processes include vetting, sanctions, cases focused on civil liability of alleged perpetrators, and the establishment of People’s Tribunals. These avenues are proving to be innovative ways to fulfil many important goals of accountability, in the face of a slower-moving criminal justice system. This symposium offers diverse perspectives on civil society contributions to today’s expanding accountability efforts — provided by those working in them — as an opportunity to consider the current, and arguably shifting, justice infrastructure.
{"title":"Editors’ Introduction","authors":"Sareta Ashraph, Danya Chaikel, Daniela Gavshon, Kirsty Sutherland","doi":"10.1093/jicj/mqae024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqae024","url":null,"abstract":"Civil society has long been a key actor in the pursuit of accountability. Moreover, civil society has often helped define what accountability is and how to achieve it. This symposium looks at various contributions made by civil society organizations to the international justice landscape. First, as pioneers in establishing international tribunals or justice mechanisms and intervening in cases before them, and secondly, through contributing to emerging alternative processes. These processes include vetting, sanctions, cases focused on civil liability of alleged perpetrators, and the establishment of People’s Tribunals. These avenues are proving to be innovative ways to fulfil many important goals of accountability, in the face of a slower-moving criminal justice system. This symposium offers diverse perspectives on civil society contributions to today’s expanding accountability efforts — provided by those working in them — as an opportunity to consider the current, and arguably shifting, justice infrastructure.","PeriodicalId":46732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Criminal Justice","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141886872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In emergent fields of practice, there is often an ‘ethics lag’ — a period of significant innovation during which the focus is on what can be accomplished more than on the safeguards that should be put in place to protect the public from the unanticipated consequences of that innovation. This is true of the emergent field of digital open-source investigations conducted for international criminal justice purposes, in which researchers and analysts comb the Internet for information relevant to their research. One sub-field where the ethics lag is particularly of concern is digital investigations of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence (CRSV), especially with regards to whether and when investigators need consent from social media posters, survivors, bystanders and others to use information discovered in online spaces. This article explores options for centring and promoting victim safety and dignity by clarifying ethical issues that investigators should consider before using open-source information to support international investigations and prosecutions of CRSV. After identifying where the relevant law leaves gaps in guidance, the authors discuss a series of considerations that may help investigators ethically handle such sensitive data. Ultimately, the authors underscore the importance of securing consent from survivors when engaging in digital open-source investigations into sexual violence. What arguably varies is who should seek that consent, when, and how.
{"title":"Merging Responsibilities","authors":"Alexa Koenig, Anthony Ghaly, Simone Lieban Levine","doi":"10.1093/jicj/mqae021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqae021","url":null,"abstract":"In emergent fields of practice, there is often an ‘ethics lag’ — a period of significant innovation during which the focus is on what can be accomplished more than on the safeguards that should be put in place to protect the public from the unanticipated consequences of that innovation. This is true of the emergent field of digital open-source investigations conducted for international criminal justice purposes, in which researchers and analysts comb the Internet for information relevant to their research. One sub-field where the ethics lag is particularly of concern is digital investigations of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence (CRSV), especially with regards to whether and when investigators need consent from social media posters, survivors, bystanders and others to use information discovered in online spaces. This article explores options for centring and promoting victim safety and dignity by clarifying ethical issues that investigators should consider before using open-source information to support international investigations and prosecutions of CRSV. After identifying where the relevant law leaves gaps in guidance, the authors discuss a series of considerations that may help investigators ethically handle such sensitive data. Ultimately, the authors underscore the importance of securing consent from survivors when engaging in digital open-source investigations into sexual violence. What arguably varies is who should seek that consent, when, and how.","PeriodicalId":46732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Criminal Justice","volume":"108 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141609393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article discusses the categorization of the phenomenon of bush wives as forced marriage under the residual category of other inhumane acts in the Ongwen case. It reveals how judges at the International Criminal Court have used an Aristotelian Approach to characterization which entailed them to examine, on the basis of a jurisprudentially established checklist, whether the bush wives phenomenon shares the properties of the crime category of other inhumane acts. By discussing the forced marriage practices through an ‘other inhumane acts’ categorization, this article reveals the limits and pitfalls of the Aristotelian Approach. The main problem is that the Aristotelian Approach fails to grasp that categorization does not merely work on the basis of a checklist logic but also is a culturally determined process in which cultural prototypes need to be examined. This article’s main proposition is to consider an alternative way of categorization drawing from the philosophy of language and social sciences and suggests judges adopt a Prototype Approach. This approach enables judges to move away from a generic way of labelling different fact patterns through a checklist of properties and take on a more tailor-made and culturally sensitive approach that involves categorization through the discussion of the similarity and distinctiveness of a certain fact pattern to a prototype. In this way, judges can diversify interpretation of the other inhumane acts category in light of local practices as it requires a fresh decision of the facts by engaging with cultural practices in a more sensitive way and examining whether this phenomenon entails prototypical marriage practices. In this way, prototype theory opens new pathways in terms of how we label cultural practices and how we use the residual category of other inhumane acts.
{"title":"In Search of the Prototype of Forced Marriage","authors":"Ligeia Quackelbeen","doi":"10.1093/jicj/mqae023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqae023","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses the categorization of the phenomenon of bush wives as forced marriage under the residual category of other inhumane acts in the Ongwen case. It reveals how judges at the International Criminal Court have used an Aristotelian Approach to characterization which entailed them to examine, on the basis of a jurisprudentially established checklist, whether the bush wives phenomenon shares the properties of the crime category of other inhumane acts. By discussing the forced marriage practices through an ‘other inhumane acts’ categorization, this article reveals the limits and pitfalls of the Aristotelian Approach. The main problem is that the Aristotelian Approach fails to grasp that categorization does not merely work on the basis of a checklist logic but also is a culturally determined process in which cultural prototypes need to be examined. This article’s main proposition is to consider an alternative way of categorization drawing from the philosophy of language and social sciences and suggests judges adopt a Prototype Approach. This approach enables judges to move away from a generic way of labelling different fact patterns through a checklist of properties and take on a more tailor-made and culturally sensitive approach that involves categorization through the discussion of the similarity and distinctiveness of a certain fact pattern to a prototype. In this way, judges can diversify interpretation of the other inhumane acts category in light of local practices as it requires a fresh decision of the facts by engaging with cultural practices in a more sensitive way and examining whether this phenomenon entails prototypical marriage practices. In this way, prototype theory opens new pathways in terms of how we label cultural practices and how we use the residual category of other inhumane acts.","PeriodicalId":46732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Criminal Justice","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141609392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article examines the implications of a state party’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, with a particular focus on its impact on the continuity of International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings in an ongoing situation, especially during the preliminary examination phase. It begins by scrutinizing three distinct ways of addressing the implications of a state party withdrawal employed by the ICC, drawing insights from key decisions in the Burundi and Philippines situations, as well as scholarly viewpoints on the issue. It then analyses the legal consequences of withdrawal on ICC proceedings, both in situations where the investigation is initiated by the Office of the Prosecutor and those triggered by state party referral. This article argues that the authorization of an investigation in the Philippines situation may have exceeded the bounds set by the Rome Statute.
{"title":"Withdrawal from the Rome Statute","authors":"Yudan Tan","doi":"10.1093/jicj/mqae022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqae022","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the implications of a state party’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, with a particular focus on its impact on the continuity of International Criminal Court (ICC) proceedings in an ongoing situation, especially during the preliminary examination phase. It begins by scrutinizing three distinct ways of addressing the implications of a state party withdrawal employed by the ICC, drawing insights from key decisions in the Burundi and Philippines situations, as well as scholarly viewpoints on the issue. It then analyses the legal consequences of withdrawal on ICC proceedings, both in situations where the investigation is initiated by the Office of the Prosecutor and those triggered by state party referral. This article argues that the authorization of an investigation in the Philippines situation may have exceeded the bounds set by the Rome Statute.","PeriodicalId":46732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Criminal Justice","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141614455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the wake of the increased regulation of armed conflicts, legal interpretation by government lawyers has become crucial in shaping state policies, particularly during times of war. This article explores the scenarios where state policies that have been positively sanctioned by legal professionals potentially amount to international crimes, raising questions of accountability. By examining historical and contemporary instances, the article explores if and to what extent government legal advisers may be considered accomplices in such crimes. It suggests that their responsibility could be framed within the mode of liability of aiding and abetting, as outlined in Article 25(3)(c) of the Rome Statute. Additionally, the article addresses alternative modes of liability specified under Article 25(3)(a) and 25(3)(d). It finally expands to the further consequences of legal advice on the liability of the principal perpetrator, questioning whether the latter may invoke a defence of mistake of law or a breach of the principle of legality. In an attempt to embrace the revolutionary potential of international criminal law, this article aims to make legal interpretation itself the object of scrutiny, through the lenses of international criminal responsibility.
{"title":"Fabricated Legality","authors":"Lavinia Parsi","doi":"10.1093/jicj/mqae017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqae017","url":null,"abstract":"In the wake of the increased regulation of armed conflicts, legal interpretation by government lawyers has become crucial in shaping state policies, particularly during times of war. This article explores the scenarios where state policies that have been positively sanctioned by legal professionals potentially amount to international crimes, raising questions of accountability. By examining historical and contemporary instances, the article explores if and to what extent government legal advisers may be considered accomplices in such crimes. It suggests that their responsibility could be framed within the mode of liability of aiding and abetting, as outlined in Article 25(3)(c) of the Rome Statute. Additionally, the article addresses alternative modes of liability specified under Article 25(3)(a) and 25(3)(d). It finally expands to the further consequences of legal advice on the liability of the principal perpetrator, questioning whether the latter may invoke a defence of mistake of law or a breach of the principle of legality. In an attempt to embrace the revolutionary potential of international criminal law, this article aims to make legal interpretation itself the object of scrutiny, through the lenses of international criminal responsibility.","PeriodicalId":46732,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International Criminal Justice","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141571084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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