INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW
(LAWG-8020) - 3 UNITS

By some measures, the promises made at Nuremberg and Tokyo after World War II - to hold individuals criminally accountable for mass atrocities - are coming closer to fulfillment. The last three decades have seen significant growth in the application of international criminal law in the establishment of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda; hybrid (international/domestic) tribunals in Sierra Leone, East Timor, Lebanon, and Cambodia; transnational criminal prosecutions; and the creation of a permanent international criminal court (the ICC). Yet, the global commitment to international justice remains inconsistent. The ICC is plagued by challenges to its legitimacy, erratic state cooperation, and persistent perceptions of inefficacy, inefficiency, and inequity. Calls for criminal accountability for the situations in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and South Sudan - among many others - go unanswered. The United States, one of the primary architects of the postwar international rules-based order, appears to have abandoned its commitment to international justice, posing the most serious threats to the international system in 80 years.

This course provides an introduction to the law, institutions, and practice of international criminal law. We will cover the historical development of international criminal law and related institutions, as well as contemporary developments in the field. We will discuss the four major international crimes - war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and aggression - with additional consideration of torture and terrorism, though terrorism is not a crime itself fully defined in international law. We will also examine bases of jurisdiction, modes of liability, available defenses, and alternatives to prosecution in the context of transitional justice.

This course is appropriate for anyone interested in criminal law and practice, public international law, human rights law, and comparative law. While a prior background in international law is helpful, the course will assume that you have not taken a class in that subject. Accordingly, we will also cover some of the basic elements and structures of international law. Though priority registration is for evening hybrid students, this course is open to all students.

Pass/Fail:
No

Prerequisites:
None