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3 - Criminology of International Crimes

from Part I - Setting the Framework: Criminological, Historical and Domestic Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2020

Florian Jeßberger
Affiliation:
Universität Hamburg
Julia Geneuss
Affiliation:
Universität Hamburg
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Summary

Frank Neubacher looks at theories of punishment in international criminal law from a criminologist's perspective. He addresses three interconnected issues: The purpose of punishment, the explanation of international crimes, and sentencing. As regards the former, he is a strong advocate of a combination of different preventive theories as rationale for (international) punishment, but adds elements of restorative justice. Regarding the explanation of international crimes, he distinguishes three levels: the macro-, meso- and micro-level, connected to the system, the group and the individual, respectively. For Neubacher, it is most important to emphasize that collective violence, in which international crimes are being committed, is a situational process. He explains that when it comes to mass atrocities the perpetrator’s behaviour is illegal, but socially not deviant. Finally, as regards the reaction to international crimes, Neubacher explains that for a deterrent effect to ensue, the certainty of punishment is decisive, not the severity. Regarding the sentencing decisions, he sees a disregard of the individual perpetrator’s circumstances and proposes a more nuanced model of liability (and, thus, culpability) which takes into account the hierarchical position of the perpetrators as well as his or her discretional power.

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Why Punish Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities?
Purposes of Punishment in International Criminal Law
, pp. 25 - 44
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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