Charismatic leadership accountability under international criminal law

Existing modes of liability in international law have been derived from the experiences of the Holocaust and the Nuremberg Trials. Since then, international criminal responsibility has developed in how it addresses and responds to international crimes, albeit primarily in the context of warfare characterised by well-organised hierarchical structures where leaders possess a defined scope of influence and ‘effective control’ over their subordinates. Charismatic leadership breaks down this strict understanding of organisations and ‘effective control’ and demonstrates the need for a broader understanding of international criminal liability. It introduces scenarios where despite the absence of a formal, hierarchical organisation or superior–subordinate relationship, the leader plays a determining role in crime commission and directly and effectively shapes their subordinates’ behaviours. This article examines whether such situations are captured by the existing framework for leaders’ liability under international criminal law, using Colombian ex-president Álvaro Uribe Vélez and the crimes committed during and after his presidency as a case study. In doing so, the article underlines the tensions and shortcomings of the current modes of liability when seeking accountability of charismatic leaders while stressing the need to reconceptualise and revisit classic modes of liability to answer to less formalised leadership styles.