The imperatives of international criminal tribunals and international criminal court on crime of genocide

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><div><p><strong>INTRODUCTION</strong></p><p>In 1945, two monumental tribunals arose out of the ashes of World War II.</p><p>The International Military Tribunals at Nuremberg, Germany and Tokyo, Japan.</p><p>Both were established by the victorious nations of the World War II, in order to</p><p>provide swift justice for the victims of atrocities and punishment for the</p><p>perpetrators.</p><p>In the decades after the war, several adhoc tribunals were established to</p><p>deal with various states sponsored crimes, including those tribunals set up in</p><p>Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990s. An all encompassing tool of Justice, though</p><p>had yet to be organized.</p><p>The 1998 meeting of nations in Rome however addressed the wide spread</p><p>desire for international justice by creating the International Criminal Court (ICC).</p><p>The ICC was constructed by the United Nations to be a permanent, non-partisan</p><p>judicial instrument to promote the Rule of Law and ensure that gravest crimes do</p><p>not go unpunished.</p><p>Those “grave crimes” include genocide, crimes against humanity; war</p><p>crimes and the crimes of aggression. The court officially became operational on</p><p>July, 1, 2002 in Hague, Netherlands.</p><p>The entry into force of the ICC statute has enabled the court to exercise</p><p>jurisdiction to try individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and</p><p>genocide. The court has jurisdiction over crimes committed by individuals who</p><p>1</p></div><div><p>are nationals of states which have ratified its statute, or who have committed</p><p>crimes on the territory of such states. Those conditions are not applicable when a</p><p>case is referred to the court by the United Nations security council.</p><p>In addition, the court can only act when the relevant state is unable or</p><p>unwilling to carry out investigation or prosecutions.</p><p>The ICC is a permanent court with potentially universal and over half of the</p><p>states have so far ratified its statute. Although the U.S initially started an active</p><p>anti-ICC campaign, its opposition has recently lessened since its strategy to</p><p>undermine the court has proven to be ineffective and its fears have prove to be</p><p>unfounded.</p><p>The ICC would not undermine the sovereignty of nations because it would</p><p>function only where states are unable or unwilling to.</p><p>The imperatives of International Criminal Tribunal, A case study of Crimes</p><p>of genocide, deal with the historical evolution of this important branch of Public</p><p>International Law. It is the aim of this research work to critically analyse and</p><p>appraise the contribution of international community to the development of world</p><p>peace. Over the years from antiquity, to the modern times, rules, regulations,</p><p>protocol and conventions were evolved which govern the contract of hostilities in</p><p>both international and non-international conflicts.</p><p>The world has witnessed some of the most gruesome attacks on humanity</p><p>by totalitarian and authoritarian regimes leading to the murder of innocent people</p><p>to such alarming proposition that the international community could not ignore.</p><p>2</p></div><div><p>Global response to the United Nations to make genocide on international crime</p><p>and bring its perpetrator to justice. These efforts culminated in the United Nations</p><p>Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of genocide in 1948.</p><p>And the event in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda which led to the</p><p>destruction of thousands of innocent lives further strengthened the need for an</p><p>International Criminal Court, which had long been under consideration. And with</p><p>the adoption of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court, International</p><p>community took major steps towards ending the culture of impunity that has so</p><p>often prevailed in our world.</p><p>“<em>In</em>&nbsp;<em>the</em>&nbsp;<em>prospect</em>&nbsp;<em>of</em>&nbsp;<em>an</em>&nbsp;<em>International</em>&nbsp;<em>Criminal</em>&nbsp;<em>Court</em>&nbsp;<em>lies</em>&nbsp;<em>the</em>&nbsp;<em>promise</em>&nbsp;<em>of</em>&nbsp;<em>universal</em>&nbsp;<em>justice.</em>&nbsp;<em>That</em>&nbsp;<em>is</em>&nbsp;<em>the</em>&nbsp;<em>simple</em>&nbsp;<em>soaring</em>&nbsp;<em>hope</em>&nbsp;<em>of</em>&nbsp;<em>this</em>&nbsp;<em>vision,</em>&nbsp;<em>we</em>&nbsp;<em>are</em>&nbsp;<em>close</em>&nbsp;<em>to</em>&nbsp;<em>its</em>&nbsp;<em>realization</em>&nbsp;<em>and</em>&nbsp;<em>we</em>&nbsp;<em>will</em>&nbsp;<em>do</em>&nbsp;<em>our</em>&nbsp;<em>part</em>&nbsp;<em>to</em>&nbsp;<em>see</em>&nbsp;<em>it</em>&nbsp;<em>through</em>&nbsp;<em>till</em>&nbsp;<em>the</em>&nbsp;<em>end.</em>&nbsp;<em>We</em>&nbsp;<em>ask</em>&nbsp;<em>you</em>&nbsp;<em>to</em>&nbsp;<em>do</em>&nbsp;<em>yours</em>&nbsp;<em>in</em>&nbsp;<em>our</em>&nbsp;<em>struggle</em>&nbsp;<em>to</em>&nbsp;<em>ensure</em>&nbsp;<em>that</em>&nbsp;<em>no</em>&nbsp;<em>ruler,</em>&nbsp;<em>no</em>&nbsp;<em>state,</em>&nbsp;<em>no</em>&nbsp;<em>junta</em>&nbsp;<em>and</em>&nbsp;<em>no</em>&nbsp;<em>army</em>&nbsp;<em>anywhere</em>&nbsp;<em>can</em>&nbsp;<em>abuse</em>&nbsp;<em>human</em>&nbsp;<em>right</em>&nbsp;<em>with</em>&nbsp;<em>impunity.</em>&nbsp;<em>Only</em>&nbsp;<em>then</em>&nbsp;<em>will</em>&nbsp;<em>the</em>&nbsp;<em>innocent</em>&nbsp;<em>of</em>&nbsp;<em>distant</em>&nbsp;<em>wars</em>&nbsp;<em>and</em>&nbsp;<em>conflicts</em>&nbsp;<em>know</em>&nbsp;<em>that</em>&nbsp;<em>they</em>&nbsp;<em>may</em>&nbsp;<em>sleep</em>&nbsp;<em>under</em>&nbsp;<em>the</em>&nbsp;<em>cover</em>&nbsp;<em>of</em>&nbsp;<em>justice;</em>&nbsp;<em>that</em>&nbsp;<em>they</em>&nbsp;<em>too</em>&nbsp;<em>have</em>&nbsp;<em>rights</em>&nbsp;<em>and</em>&nbsp;<em>that</em>&nbsp;<em>those</em>&nbsp;<em>who</em>&nbsp;<em>violate</em>&nbsp;<em>that</em>&nbsp;<em>rights</em>&nbsp;<em>will</em>&nbsp;<em>be</em>&nbsp;<em>punished”.</em></p><p>The words of the former United Nations Secretary-General, quoted above,</p><p>aptly demonstrated global view with concern on the negative. It also indicates</p><p>the direction of international community wants or intends to go in the quest to</p><p>curb incidences of genocide around the world.1</p><p>1 Kofi Anan, <em>Former</em>&nbsp;<em>United</em>&nbsp;<em>Nations</em>&nbsp;<em>Secretary</em>&nbsp;<em>General.</em>&nbsp;Available at <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.un.org/law/icc/general/overview.htm">http://www.un.org/law/icc/general/overview.htm</a> 16th November, 2010</p><p>3</p></div><div><p>The history of mankind is the story of power struggle, confrontations and</p><p>armed conflict between nations, people and individuals. From earliest times, men</p><p>have been pre-occupied with the problem of how to control the effect of violence</p><p>and its attendant human sufferings with varying degrees of success.</p><p>For example, prior to the middle of the 19th Century, agreements to protect</p><p>victims of wars were of more transient character, binding only, upon the</p><p>contracting parties thereto and based upon strict reciprocity. In reality, they</p><p>constituted purely military agreement usually effectively only for the duration of a</p><p>particular period of hostility. This state of affairs was changed by the birth of</p><p>modern law.</p><p>The general assembly in 1995 session therefore decided to convene a</p><p>preparatory &nbsp; &nbsp; committee &nbsp; &nbsp; of &nbsp; &nbsp; member &nbsp; &nbsp; states; &nbsp; &nbsp; non &nbsp; &nbsp; governmental &nbsp; &nbsp; and</p><p>intergovernmental statutes in light of the myriad of amendment to ILC drafts as at</p></div> <br><p></p>