78010 International Criminal Law
6cpRequisite(s): ( 70311 Torts OR ((94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04236 Juris Doctor OR 142 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04250 Juris Doctor Master of Business Administration OR 94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04363 Juris Doctor Master of Intellectual Property OR 94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04364 Juris Doctor Graduate Certificate Trade Mark Law and Practice) AND 70106c Principles of Public International Law AND 70107c Principles of Company Law) OR ( 94 credit points of completed study in spk(s): C04320 Juris Doctor Graduate Certificate Professional Legal Practice AND 70106 Principles of Public International Law) OR (70108c Public International Law AND 70417c Corporate Law))
The lower case 'c' after the subject code indicates that the subject is a corequisite. See definitions for details.
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 78154 International Criminal Law
Description
The subject analyses international criminal law, with particular focus on conceptual and historical issues arising from prosecutions for international atrocities, the establishment of international criminal authority, and the legalisation of 'justice'. The subject charts the origins of international criminal law from the post-war settlements of Versailles and the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, to national-level prosecutions of international crimes and the establishment of international tribunals. The subject examines international criminal law by assessing its purported objectives—its claims to provide redress, historical narrative (or memory) and deterrence—in light of its substantive achievements and failures, and its continued progress in the contemporary world. The subject examines the core crimes set out in the Rome Statute (war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression), and analyses the function of the principal international institutions—the ad hoc tribunals, the International Criminal Court, and the 'hybrid' tribunals. Additionally, the subject covers important foundational and doctrinal questions such as jurisdiction and immunities, extended modes of criminal responsibility and circumstances precluding liability. Students have the opportunity to explore in depth a number of areas of interest in the field, including torture, terrorism and corporate complicity in international crimes. Through the maintenance of an ongoing case file on a real-life situation currently before the International Criminal Court, as well as the presentation of submissions for a mock indictment before that court, students gain technical legal competence as well as a deep, practical understanding of the promise and pitfalls of the modern international criminal justice project.
Detailed subject description.