Designing International Criminal Tribunals

Catalog description

This course will explore judicial responses to establishing individual criminal responsibility for core international crimes: the crime of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Focusing on structure and core design elements with particular attention to legal foundation, jurisdiction, immunities, state cooperation, and pre-/post-trial proceedings, the course will examine the effectiveness of various ad hoc and permanent tribunals. Tribunals to be examined include the International Military Tribunals at Nuremberg (IMT Nuremberg) and for the Far East (IMTFE); United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR); Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC); Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL); Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL); Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC); Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine; and International Criminal Court (ICC). Other mechanisms that can complement and expand accountability efforts will also be explored (e.g., claims commissions, domestic prosecutions, sanctions). The course adopts a critical approach in assessing the role and legitimacy of international criminal law institutions amidst fragmented global attention and political will.