International criminal law

Criminal responsibility occurs not only for direct perpetration of crimes, but also, consonant with domestic criminal law, through a number of 'modes of liability'. Thus, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), in the so-called ‘Lašva Valley’ case affirmed that two modes of liability for criminal participation appear to have crystallized in international law: co-perpetrators who participate in a joint criminal enterprise, on the one hand, and aiders and abettors, on the other.ICTY, Prosecutor v. Furundžija (‘Lašva Valley’), Judgment (Trial Chamber) (Case No. IT-95-17/1), 10 December 1998, §216. The International Criminal Court, on the other hand, has embraced ‘control’ theory instead of joint criminal enterprise (JCE). The International Criminal Court was set up in accordance with the 1998 Rome Statute and successfully prosecuted its first case in 2012, convicting Thomas Lubanga Dyilo of war crimes for the recruitment and use of children under 15 years of age as combatants.

Last updated on: 07 January 2014