Elements of War Crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by Dr Jakob Kellenberger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross
- Foreword by Ambassador Philippe Kirsch, QC
- Table of cases by alphabetical order
- Table of cases by jurisdiction
- Table of treaties and other international instruments
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Legal value of the elements of crimes
- 3 General Introduction adopted by the PrepCom
- 4 Introduction to elements of war crimes listed in Article 8 of the Rome Statute
- 5 Article 8(2)(a) ICC Statute – Grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions
- 6 Article 8(2)(b) ICC Statute – Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict
- 7 Article 8(2)(c) ICC Statute – Violations of common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions
- 8 Article 8(2)(e) ICC Statute – Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in armed conflicts not of an international character
- Appendix: Request from the Governments of Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Mexico, the Republic of Korea and South Africa and the Permanent Observer Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations regarding the text prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross on the mental element in the common law and civil law systems and on the concepts of mistake of fact and mistake of law in national and international law
- Bibliography
- Index
4 - Introduction to elements of war crimes listed in Article 8 of the Rome Statute
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by Dr Jakob Kellenberger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross
- Foreword by Ambassador Philippe Kirsch, QC
- Table of cases by alphabetical order
- Table of cases by jurisdiction
- Table of treaties and other international instruments
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Legal value of the elements of crimes
- 3 General Introduction adopted by the PrepCom
- 4 Introduction to elements of war crimes listed in Article 8 of the Rome Statute
- 5 Article 8(2)(a) ICC Statute – Grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions
- 6 Article 8(2)(b) ICC Statute – Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict
- 7 Article 8(2)(c) ICC Statute – Violations of common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions
- 8 Article 8(2)(e) ICC Statute – Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in armed conflicts not of an international character
- Appendix: Request from the Governments of Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Mexico, the Republic of Korea and South Africa and the Permanent Observer Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations regarding the text prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross on the mental element in the common law and civil law systems and on the concepts of mistake of fact and mistake of law in national and international law
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In addition to the issues dealt with in the General Introduction, it was realised that certain points were particularly relevant to all crimes under Art. 8 ICC Statute. The PrepCom decided therefore to include in the EOC document an introduction which is specifically applicable to all these crimes. The substance must be read in conjunction with the elements defined for each crime. The introduction reads as follows:
The elements for war crimes under article 8, paragraph 2(c) and (e), are subject to the limitations addressed in article 8, paragraph 2(d) and (f), which are not elements of crimes.
The elements for war crimes under article 8, paragraph 2, of the Statute shall be interpreted within the established framework of the international law of armed conflict including, as appropriate, the international law of armed conflict applicable to armed conflict at sea.
With respect to the last two elements listed for each crime:
There is no requirement for a legal evaluation by the perpetrator as to the existence of an armed conflict or its character as international or non-international;
In that context there is no requirement for awareness by the perpetrator of the facts that established the character of the conflict as international or non-international;
There is only a requirement for the awareness of the factual circumstances that established the existence of an armed conflict that is implicit in the terms ‘took place in the context of and was associated with’.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Elements of War Crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal CourtSources and Commentary, pp. 15 - 16Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003