The Criminal Responsibility of Senior Political and Military Leaders as Principals to International Crimes

As shown by the trials of Slobodan Milosevic, Charles Taylor and Saddam Hussein, the large-scale and systematic commission of international crimes is usually planned and set in motion by senior political and military leaders. Nevertheless, the application of traditional forms of criminal liability leads to the conclusion that they are mere accessories to such crimes. This does not reflect their central role and often results in a punishment which is inappropriately low in view of the impact of their actions and omissions. For these reasons, international criminal law has placed special emphasis on the development of concepts, such as control of the crime and joint criminal enterprise (also known as the common purpose doctrine), which aim at reflecting better the central role played by senior political and military leaders in campaigns of large scale and systematic commission of international crimes. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the case law of the ICTY and the ICTR have, in recent years, played a unique role in the achievement of this goal.>

Olásolo in his meticulously researched book provides an expansive overview of the prosecution of senior military and political leaders. ...where possible the author attempts to provide practical examples to facilitate the reader's understanding of this complex area of the law. The author provides what appears to be a complete overview of the topic by critiquing the traditional concepts used to hold senior military and political leaders criminally liable in international criminal law...the book however, is not simply a summary of international criminal law, the author strongly supports his positions which differ from other distinguished writers and findings from the jurisprudence he canvases. Overall this book is insightful, well researched and highly detailed...Practitioners will find this useful because not only does it canvass and summarize the development of criminal liability of senior officials, but the author also provides a critical analysis of the jurisprudence as well as suggestions for the future of international law. ...a valuable source of information for anyone studying or with a background in international criminal law.

Auteur
Hector Olasolo is Professor of International Criminal Law and Procedure at Utrecht University and Chairman of the Iberoamerican Institute of the Hague for Peace, Human Rights and International Justice (IIH). LLM (Columbia University), PhD in Law (Salamanca University). Former Legal Officer in Chambers at the International Criminal Court (2004-2009). Former member of the Legal Advisory and Appeal Sections of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (2002-2004). Former member of the Spanish Delegation to the International Criminal Court Preparatory Commission (1999-2002). The author has written the books entitled 'Corte Penal Internacional: Dónde Investigar?' (Tirant lo Blanch, 2003), 'The Triggering Procedure of the International Criminal Court' (Brill Publishers, 2005), 'Ataques contra Personas y Bienes Civiles y Ataques Desproporcionados' (Tirant lo Blanch, 2006), 'Unlawful Attacks in Combat Situations' (Brill Publishers, 2007), 'Terrorismo Internacional y Conflicto Armado' (Tirant lo Blanch, 2008) and 'Ensayos sobre la Corte Penal Internacional' (Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá/Dyke, 2009). The views expressed herein are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICC, the ICTY, the United Nations or the Spanish Government.

Texte du rabat

As shown by the trials of Slobodan Milosevic, Charles Taylor, and Saddam Hussein, the large-scale and systematic commission of international crimes is usually planned and set in motion by senior political and military leaders. Nevertheless, the application of traditional forms of criminal liability leads to the conclusion that they are mere accessories to such crimes. This does not reflect their central role and often results in a punishment which is inappropriately low, in view of the impact of their actions and omissions. For these reasons, international criminal law has placed special emphasis on the development of concepts, such as control of the crime and joint criminal enterprise (also known as the common purpose doctrine), which aim at better reflecting the central role played by senior political and military leaders in campaigns of large scale and systematic commission of international crimes. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the case law of the Internation

Résumé
This book explores the criminal responsibility of senior political and military leaders as principals to international crimes.

Contenu
Foreword by Judge Sir Adrian Fulford, presiding Judge of the Trial Chamber at the International Criminal Court. Introduction by Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova, Judge of Pre-Trial Chambers II and III of the International Criminal Court, dealing with the situations in Uganda and Central African Republic.