International Criminal Law

"English summary: The interpretation of Dutch Jewish Council Records

The main question in this thesis is: how do we interpret historical documents if we do not know the exact context in which they were created? It is a basic question for researchers and it will be all the more important in the digital age if we want to secure digital sustainability. The problem is demonstrated from the example of the Jewish Council Records that are part of the Information Bureau archives, at the Red Cross in The Hague. On these paper index cards a large amount of personal and procedural information was recorded by staff of the Jewish Council during the occupation of the Netherlands. On the appr. 180000 cards nearly every individual Jewish person was registered individually. After the war, the same card system was used by the Netherlands Red Cross as a basis for tracing the victims and to determine their fate.

Recreating the context
If we want to read the information on the cards and understand the meaning of the scribbled notes, we have to recreate the procedures that created these records. The card in itself is only the end product of a complicated chain of administrative events in a paper bureaucracy. The procedures changed many times and were scarcely documented. This means that the paper network has to be reconstructed, that existed when the records were created. The implication is that all the archives that may hold key-information have to be analysed. In that way the context of the Jewish Council records can be reconstructed. Context is required to interpret the information on these records. There are two layers of context. The first is the archives of the Information Bureau of the Red Cross and consists of deportation lists, personal files and other collections that were connected tot the Jewish Council Records after the war. The second level are the external archives that hold context information are scattered all over the Netherlands, but are mainly at NIOD-Amsterdam, National Archives the Hague and in local municipal archives.

How to obtain robust digital sustainability
To obtain robust digital sustainability, a detailed analysis of the interconnection of all these files is necessary. This analysis should be part of the meta-data. The paper bureaucratic network has to be reconstructed, and the remaining context-carriers have to indentified. Isolated digitisation of complex systems like the Jewish Council Records will lead to digital representations that cannot be interpreted. This is in fact what happened already, when microfilmed copies of the Jewish Council Records were transferred to ITS-Arolsen in the 1950’s. This organisation provided copies to Yad Vashem. Now all these microfilms are digitised and made available to institutions like the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. These ‘orphaned’ digital files have no metadata attached about the creation, history and interrelations with other archives. Researchers will not be able to use the full potential of these files, because the context-environment was lost.
It is also argued that the new historian of the paperless information age will not understand the way a paper bureaucracy works. If this problem is not addressed, misunderstandings will arise interpreting the products of a paper bureaucracy: deportation list and file-card etc.

The thesis provides a detailed description of all the interrelations between internal (in the Red Cross Information Bureau archives) and external archives. It also analyses the way the German occupying authorities exerted their rule over the information that was provided to the Jewish council. The German authorities were conducting a war against the Jews and used their power to restrict the communication of the Jewish council and to destabilise the day-to-day practice of the Jewish council."

There are more types of borders today than ever before in history. Borders of all kinds define every aspect of social life in the twenty-first century. From the biometric data that divides the smallest aspects of our bodies to the aerial drones that patrol the immense expanse of our domestic and international airspace, we are defined by borders. They can no longer simply be understood as the geographical divisions between nation-states. Today, their form and function has become too complex, too hybrid. What we need now is a theory of the border that can make sense of this hybridity across multiple domains of social life.

Rather than viewing borders as the result or outcome of pre-established social entities like states, Thomas Nail reinterprets social history from the perspective of the continual and constitutive movement of the borders that organize and divide society in the first place. Societies and states are the products of bordering, Nail argues, not the other way around. Applying his original movement-oriented theoretical framework "kinopolitics" to several major historical border regimes (fences, walls, cells, and checkpoints), Theory of the Border pioneers a new methodology of "critical limology," that provides fresh tools for the analysis of contemporary border politics.

The article 12.3 of the International Criminal Court’s Statute allows the States not party of the treaty to make a unilateral declaration accepting the competence of the Court, without expressing their consent to be bound to the Statute. This paper addresses the survey of the provision in the light of the practice arisen from its statutory formulation and the interesting matters that its implementation has brought up regarding aspects such as the entitlement to issue the declaration, the material, temporal, territorial and subjective scope thereof, the procedure after its submission before the Secretary of the ICC and the problems derived from the possibility that a State may withdraw the trust placed in the ICC
in the form of a declaration. The declarations issued until now on behalf of Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, Palestine, Ukraine and even Egypt, and the response given by the ICC to the different matters mentioned
above, allow to have a glimpse of a provision full of possibilities, not only for the States that have not ratified the treaty yet, but also for the 124 States that already did.

El artículo 12.3 del Estatuto de la Corte Penal Internacional permite a los Estados no parte en el tratado formular una declaración unilateral de aceptación de la competencia de la Corte, pero sin llegar a manifestar su consentimiento en obligarse por el tratado en su conjunto. El presente trabajo aborda el estudio de la disposición a la luz de la práctica surgida desde su formulación estatutaria y las interesantes cuestiones que su aplicación ha planteado en relación con aspectos tales como la legitimación para emitir la declaración, el alcance material, temporal, territorial y subjetivo de la misma, el procedimiento posterior a su depósito ante el Secretario de la CPI y los problemas derivados de la posibilidad de que un Estado retire la confianza que había depositado en la CPI en forma de declaración. Las declaraciones emitidas hasta el momento en nombre de Costa de Marfil, Uganda, Palestina, Ucrania, e incluso Egipto, y la respuesta ofrecida por la CPI a las distintas cuestiones anteriormente referidas permiten vislumbrar una disposición llena de posibilidades no solo para los Estados que aún no han ratificado el tratado sino también para los 124 Estados que ya lo han hecho.

Cette contribution vise à offrir une perspective juridique sur un débat qui, sur le plan politique, a bifurqué vers un affrontement contreproductif et réducteur. À la lumière des principales objections juridiques de l’Union africaine, cet article analysera d’abord certaines limites potentielles à l’exercice de la compétence universelle, soit l’exigence pragmatique de la présence de l’accusé sur le territoire de l’État souhaitant exercer cette compétence, le contrôle « politique » de la décision de poursuivre sur cette base et l’applicabilité d’immunités dans certains cas (1). Ensuite, l’analyse se portera sur le choc de compétence apparent entre l’État territorial ou national qui souhaite poursuivre un suspect et l’État sur le territoire duquel se trouve ce dernier. Elle discutera du cadre juridique d’un principe dit de subsidiarité, selon lequel l’État de compétence universelle doit céder le pas devant l’État territorial ou national qui souhaite poursuivre, si ce dernier a la capacité et la volonté de le faire (2). Il sera ainsi possible de constater non seulement que l’opposition apparente entre l’Union africaine et plusieurs pays occidentaux est moins importante que ce que les discours et les frondes politiques laissent paraître, mais également que le principe de compétence universelle, bien compris, répond déjà de façon satisfaisante aux récriminations à saveur juridique de ses plus farouches opposants.

This book clearly sets out the international criminal law framework. Features throughout the text are used to equip readers with the tools to consider and assess the current status of the law and encourage critical analysis of the latest debates affecting the subject area.

Apresentação destinada a um Seminário na disciplina "Cibercriminalidade" do Mestrado em Direito e Informática da Escola de Direito da Universidade do Minho, no dia 19 de maio de 2023, o qual tenho lecionado desde 2012.
Uma versão anterior servira de apoio uma aula da disciplina "Direito e Segurança Informática" do Mestrado em Segurança Informática da Universidade de Coimbra, no dia 2 de dezembro de 2022.

This article aims to verify whether, and to what extent, the practice of the last twenty years reflects the theoretical premises usually associated to international criminal justice, as a set of institutions and norms not only intended to prosecute international crimes, but also to enforce international rules prohibiting the use of force and, as a result, maintain or restore international peace and security. To this end, a series of elements need to be taken into account. Drawing from the results achieved by the papers published in this Special Section and focusing on some of the most complex and recent criminal situations, the article argues that the less the judicial action had been interna- tionalized, the more it seemed able to contribute, within the State where it took place, at least to the maintenance of peaceful conditions achieved by other means.

The killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhou reportedly by agents of Israel‟s Mossad service in Dubai a year ago1 serves as a quick reminder that extrajudicial executions, assassinations and other targeted killing operations are taking place and are part of a modern democracy‟s arsenal of antiterrorism and counter-terrorism means. Targeted Killing Operations reportedly form part of NATO‟s operational practice: depending on the circumstances they represent just another option of the lawful use of force in an armed conflict or assimilated situations. Consequently, it is argued that International Law does not impose an explicit ban on the lethal neutralization of certain persons in an armed conflict scenario. This opinion provides a provocative view on possible justifications using targeted killing as an actual means of present day security operations – which must not be confused with traditional methods of domestic „policing‟ in a democratic state.

Article in Georgian: http://laf.ge/journals/index.php/test/article/view/2/2
One  will  often  find  statements  by  specialists  of  a  variety  of  branches  of  domestic law  in  Georgia  arguing  that  there  is  no  international  law.  Others  will  consider international  law  to  be  part,  for  example,  of  the  public  law  branch  of  domestic law. The Founder of the International Law School in Georgia, Academician Levan Alexidze  has  laid  a  solid  foundation  for  enlightening  lawyers  in  Georgia  on  the peculiarities of International Law, this independent legal system that undoubtedly and definitively exists. This article is a brief account of the importance International Law has for the international community and for the formation of domestic legal systems.

Much discussion of criminal law is analogous to the Italian cannonball; analytic embellishment adds richness in detail but often conceals crucial structural interrelationships. In this article I attempt to use the techniques of game theory to isolate minimal attributes of problems familiar in criminal law. In the first section I construct a model indicating the impact of the criminal law on the actions of prospective malefactors and, by extension, on the welfare of society as a whole; in subsequent sections I explore the implications of this model for public policy. My hope is to achieve clarity through abstractness.

Considering a seriousness of the wrongful removal of children, but also its actuality in various forms, cultural, socio-economic and political contexts, this paper shads a light on the existing gap between the status of this phenomenon as a subject of international human rights instruments and still insufficient level of awareness of the main national stakeholders and academic community across the World. The author analyses the background of recognition of the wrongful removal of children by international treaties, but also the main aspects of this phenomenon. Among others, the author addresses this issues from the angle of guaranties provided by the International Convention for Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the light of the right to the truth and personal identity. The last, but not the least, author discussing
the relevant provisions of the Serbian penal and civil legislation that deal with wrongful removal of children.
Keywords: children, right to truth, right to personal identity, enforced
disappearance

Відповідно до публічних відомостей, наданих міжнародною громадською організацією Transparency International, Україна посідає 130 місце зі 180 за рівнем корумпованості бюрократичного апарату влади.
Відтак, метою державної політики протидії корупції є виявлення та подолання її соціальних передумов і наслідків корупційних дій.

Одним із чинників боротьби з корупцією став Закон України від 07.04.2011 р. № 3207‑VI «Про внесення змін до деяких законодавчих актів України щодо відповідальності за корупційні правопорушення», яким встановлена кримінальна відповідальність за незаконне збагачення. Кримінальний кодекс України було доповнено ст. 368-2 «Незаконне збагачення». Чи є наведений склад ефективним засобом протидії корупційним явищам в Україні — питання сьогоднішньої дискусії.
Чинна редакція цієї статті передбачає кримінальну відповідальність за незаконне збагачення, що визначається як «набуття особою, уповноваженою на виконання функцій держави або місцевого самоврядування, у власність активів у значному розмірі, законність підстав набуття яких не підтверджено доказами, а так само передача нею таких активів будь-якій іншій особі». Отже, диспозиція цієї статті встановлює презумпцію винуватості особи у вчиненні нею злочину.

Розширене тлумачення поняття «будь-якій іншій особі», яке міститься в абз. 1 ч. 1 ст. 368-2 Кримінального кодексу України, є нетиповим для кримінального права України в контексті вимог ст. 19 Конституції України та створює передумови для протиправного втручання в особисте життя, право на яке гарантовано ст. 32 Конституції України за формальними ознаками.

The present text focuses on discovering the concept of an armed actor in the XXI century, for the purpose it is direct to the characterization of, it that was not define by international treaties and that has elusively been developed by international jurisprudence in the courts international criminal. In this framework, a study of the history of the formation of the right to make war and crosscutting in international conferences, serves as an illuminating element of this initial approach, as is the concept of an armed actor. Finally, a review of three cases atypical to the contradictory cases such as the case of the Zetas in Mexico, the bacrim in Colombia, and the Islamic State on alert, with the application of the criteria of common criteria to establish whether a new form of armed actors can be found in the diversification of the armed structures of power.
Keywords: organized armed weapons of power r, International humanitarian law, Armed groups, Peace of Westfalia, International criminal law, Armed conflict.

Muy recientemente, siendo su análisis el motivo principal del presente artículo, el TEDH ha tenido ocasión de pronunciarse de nuevo sobre el particular en una sentencia que por su tenor, claridad y contundencia debe constituir la referencia futura sobre esta materia. Se trata de la sentencia de 3 de febrero de 2015 "caso Pruteanu c. Rumanía", cuyo objeto y pronunciamiento se exponen a continuación.

To download click here : http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:38728

This paper attempts to provide a more complete understanding of the so-called right to the truth, deriving from court-made doctrine in the human rights field, and associated with an alternative form of legal proceeding in Argentina that has no equivalent anywhere else in the world: the trial for the truth (juicio por la verdad), a procedure sui generis created in the aftermath of the military dictatorship in response to both the politics of forgetting that prevailed in the 1990s and the continuing obstruction of criminal proceedings down to 2003 due to amnesty laws. Protecting the right to the truth fulfils three functions by turns: first, it makes possible conciliation of amnesty with the right to judicial protection; second, it constitutes the condition for real access to justice; third, it validates the reality of the crime. Each of these functions is associated with one of the three elements, which, together, comprise the struggle against impunity: investigation, sanction, and reparation. Situated between truth commissions and classic criminal proceedings, symbolic reparation and retribution, the Argentinian trials for the truth offer a new way of conceiving both the criminal-law judge’s mission and the relations among law, truth, history, and memory in the context of the rich debates about (post-)transitional justice.
Sévane Garibian

The article attempts a comprehensive review of the human security concept in order to question its utility for both research and policy-making. It notes the term’s interdisciplinary and extensively normative content that have facilitated its evolution into a successful security discourse. On the other hand, human security’s wide appeal has as a side-effect an extended conceptual polysemy inhibiting the cumulation of knowledge and the development of a relevant theory. Absence of conceptual clarity has also complicated its policy implementation. The article attempts to break the deadlock and move the debate forward by using the work of John Gerring and Paul A. Barresi on concept formation as an organizing device.

Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace (SJP) aims to achieve criminal accountability through a mixed system of restorative and retributive justice. Generally speaking, the SJP envisions large-scale restorative justice measures involving public acknowledgments of responsibility, as well as concrete, symbolic, and collective reparations aimed at satisfying victims while simultaneously reintegrating perpetrators. This report describes the court’s mixed model, delves into its innerworkings, and critically assesses its restorative justice components and their impact.

Dodatkowe zobowiązanie podatkowe w podatku od towarów i usług nie może być kwalifikowane jako kara w rozumieniu przepisów prawa karnego. Jest ono publicznoprawnym zobowiązaniem podatkowym. Dodatkowemu zobowiązaniu podatkowemu przyświecają inne funkcje i cele niż np. grzywnom i karom pieniężnym.

In 1946, the judges at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg declared 'crimes against peace' – the planning, initiation or waging of aggressive wars – to be 'the supreme international crime'. At the time, the prosecuting powers heralded the charge as being a legal milestone, but it later proved to be an anomaly arising from the unique circumstances of the post-war period. This study traces the idea of criminalising aggression, from its origins after the First World War, through its high-water mark at the post-war tribunals at Nuremberg and Tokyo, to its abandonment during the Cold War. Today, a similar charge – the 'crime of aggression' – is being mooted at the International Criminal Court, so the ideas and debates that shaped the original charge of 'crimes against peace' assume new significance and offer valuable insights to lawyers, policy-makers and scholars engaged in international law and international relations.

Table of Contents
Foreword — Simon Chesterman

Introduction — Kirsten Sellars

1. Treasonable conspiracies at Paris, Moscow, and Delhi: the legal hinterland of the Tokyo tribunal — Kirsten Sellars

2. Then and now: command responsibility, the Tokyo tribunal, and modern international criminal law — Robert Cryer

3. Colonial justice in the Netherlands Indies war crimes trials — Lisette Schouten

4. The superior orders defence at the postwar trials in Singapore — Cheah Wui Ling

5. The Khabarovsk trial: the Soviet riposte to the Tokyo tribunal — Valentyna Polunina

6. The People's Republic of China's ‘lenient treatment’ policy towards Japanese war criminals — Ōsawa Takeshi

7. Cambodia, 1979: trying Khmer Rouge leaders for genocide — Tara Gutman

8. Crimes against humanity in East Timor: the Indonesian Ad Hoc Human Rights Court hearings — Mark Cammack

9. Asia as the laboratory of the superior responsibility doctrine — Rehan Abeyratne

10. The two approaches to the superior orders plea — Jia Bing Bing

11. The joint criminal enterprise doctrine at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia — Neha Jain
12. Trials for international crimes in Bangladesh: prosecutorial strategies, defence arguments and judgments — M. Rafiqul Islam