This thesis examines prosecutorial challenges of the International Criminal Court (ICC/the court) in relation to the dwindling legitimacy prosecuting under Article 5 of the Rome Statute and other relevant international law principles. The study attempts a prognosis of the future shape of ICC prosecutions in light of the challenges and proposes reforms to the operations of the Court and its constitutive instrument to improve the dispensation of justice. The focus of the study is substantive international criminal law, developments in relevant case laws of international courts and tribunals, structure and procedures of the ICC and relevant principles within the context of elements of the Crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the Crime of aggression. The thesis further evaluates the role of the Court as it ensures international cooperation with domestic efforts to promote the ‘Rule of law’, uphold the principles of international humanitarian law, human rights law and combat impunity being the first permanent treaty-based international criminal court with the intent and purpose of ending impunity for perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and thus contributes to the prevention of such crimes. Additionally, the International Criminal Court advances international criminal justice, particularly with regard to victims by providing not only legal justice but also participation in the process and restorative justice to rebuild the society after mass violence. The thesis is an analysis of the prosecutorial challenges at the International Criminal Court, using its legal framework and jurisprudence to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

This thesis deals with crimes against humanity and war crimes in the practice of the International Criminal Court, an institution established to prosecute the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole (which include, in addition to the two types mentioned above, genocide and crimes of aggression). Prosecution of these crimes changed significantly from the military tribunals following World War II to the ad hoc tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and finally to the International Criminal Court, which was created as a permanent international institution in 1998 at the Rome Conference and became operational in 2002 after its Statute reached the required number of ratifications. The aim of this thesis is to introduce how crimes against humanity and war crimes have been conceived in the practice of the International Criminal Court with respect to the development of their concept and prosecution by the previous criminal tribunals. The thesis is divided into three main chapters. In the first one, I introduce the topic, specifically the development of the idea to establish a permanent international criminal tribunal as well as its eventual establishment. Furthermore, the first chapter also includes a theoretical introduction to the jurisdiction of the International...

Les minorités religieuses représentent souvent une composante de la population et se caractérisent par leur différence religieuse qui peut les rendre vulnérables à diverses menaces. Assurer la sécurité et la stabilité des sociétés comportant des minorités religieuses impose l’adoption de dispositions spécifiques. La protection pénale représente ici le moyen juridique le plus efficace, à travers la dissuasion réalisée par les sanctions et les mesures adoptées. Cette étude vise à déterminer le fondement et la portée de ladite protection accordée à des minorités et ce, en établissant une comparaison entre deux systèmes différents devant la religion, le système religieux (libyen et égyptien) et le système laïc (français). Le Statut de la Cour pénale internationale en tant qu’axe complémentaire sera ici un élément neutre par sa position ni laïque, ni religieuse. Cette comparaison s’attachera à l’impact du système juridique adopté quant aux droits des minorités religieuses. / Religious minorities are often a component of the population and are characterized by their religious difference that can make them vulnerable to various threats. Ensuring security and stability of societies with religious minorities requires the adoption of specific provisions. The criminal protection, here, represents the most effective legal means, through deterrence achieved by sanctions and measures adopted. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of that protection extended to minorities in terms of foundation and reach, by making a comparison between two different systems in front of religion: the religious system (Libya and Egypt) and the secular system (French). The Statute of the International Criminal Court as a complementary axis, here, is a neutral element in its position nor secular or religious. This comparison will focus on the impact of the legal system adopted regarding the rights of religious minorities.

Thesis advisor: David Rasmussen / This thesis begins by analyzing three different philosophies on human rights. It looks to the foundations of these theories, but focuses primarily on the obligations that each system creates. It evaluates cosmopolitanism and two different institutionalist arguments, eventually settling on a tiered system of international responsibility as the strongest and most practical conception of rights. The second chapter of the thesis discusses the role of the International Criminal Court as a part of this tiered system, and as a means to promote human rights across the globe. This section evaluates the court by considering its historical foundations, its goals and responsibilities, and its actions over the past ten years. It concludes by providing recommendations for the future of the court. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Understanding the psychology behind the perpetrators of the Holocaust has been difficult because experiments on conformity and obedience cannot readily simulate the reality of the Holocaust. There exists historical documentation surrounding the leaders of the Nazi organization instrumental for the perpetration of the Holocaust, but the underlying motives of Hitler's leaders relating to governmental policies of systematic extermination of the Jews in Europe, are not known, as the strategy and operationalization of the actions were kept extremely secret, disguised by euphemisms, or only discussed verbally. This research study was to further understand the thought processes behind the manipulation tactics applied by leaders of the Nazi organization, and the leaders of Britain, America, and the Soviet Union during the Holocaust, by reviewing their personal writings, communiques, and orders. The theoretical base used was the theory of groupthink by Janis, because it is most applicable to understanding complex human psychology. The research questions of the study were: a) to find the origins of the Final Solution, why it gained acceptance by the Nazis, and the role of anti-Semitism ; and b) to identify groupthink symptom language relating to German, British, American, and Soviet leaders during the Holocaust. A qualitative multiple retro-historical case study methodology was selected. Data were collected and analyzed from archival material and groupthink theory was found to be ideally suited to the study of the Holocaust. Translation of a period of Alfred Rosenberg's diary relating to Hitler's issuance of the 'Hitler Extermination Order,' was discovered. The results show areas for further research, including the translation into English of the Alfred Rosenberg diary that was lost to history for over 60 years. The findings of this research study will hopefully help organizational psychologists to better remedy groupthink practices.

Magister Legum - LLM / Piracy attacks off the coast of the Horn of Africa have been on the rise in the recent years. According to a report by Ocean without Borders, although no vessels were hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia in 2017, 8 seafarers who were captured in 2016 were still being held in captivity. So far, 545 seafarers have been subjected to piracy attacks.1 The west coast of Africa has also experienced its fair share of piracy attacks. There has been an increase in piracy attacks off the coast of West Africa, two thirds of these attacks occurred off the coast of Nigeria.2The law governing maritime piracy is founded in the United Nations Convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS).3Article 101 of the Convention defines piracy as; (a) any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed: i. on the high seas, against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft; ii. against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State; (b) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a pirate ship or aircraft; (c) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in subparagraph (a) or (b). In addition to the UNCLOS, the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful acts of Violence against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (herein after referred to as SUA Convention) also criminalises acts related to maritime piracy but which hinder the safe navigation of ships.4 The determining factor for crimes under the SUA Convention is whether the offence is a threat to the safe navigation or is likely to endanger the safe navigation of ships.5 The SUA Convention, however, differs from the UNCLOS in several aspects. First, the Convention does not require that the offence be committed for private ends. Second, the two ships requirement under Article 101 (a) of the UNCLOS is not applicable in the SUA Convention. The offences created in Article 3 of the SUA Convention imply that they may be committed by a perpetrator who is in the same ship with the victim. The SUA Convention does not provide for application of the principle of universal jurisdiction, a State can only exercise jurisdiction over the crimes if it is a party to it.6 Both the SUA Convention7 and the UNCLOS8 provide that the offence must be committed outside a State’s territorial waters. Article 4 of the SUA Convention however further limits the application of the Convention. The Convention does not apply to instances where the ship was not scheduled to navigate out of the territorial waters of the State. This limitation is not applicable under the UNCLOS.

International humanitarian law, international criminal law and international human rights law all share the common goal of seeking to regulate the behavior of international actors in relation to the three most serious offences under international law - genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. International legal rules, processes and institutions within these three areas of law represent the international community's ongoing quest to address and prevent the commission of these crimes - to create "a more humane world under law." International law has therefore been relied upon as the primary - arguably exclusive - mechanism for prescribing rules of conduct and for enforcing prescribed rules. It is clear, however, that the legal framework alone has not been able to bridge the gap between internationally agreed standards and substantive practice on the part of international actors. That international law comprises only a partial solution to the problem of human rights atrocities is well recognized. It is argued here that the international community's preoccupation with international law as the means for regulating State and individual behavior in this area has in fact contributed to continuing problems of non-compliance as much as it has assisted in engendering compliance with the law. In other words, law is as much a part of the problem as it is a part of the solution. It is argued that the international community must look beyond the law, to non-traditional, informal influences operating alongside the law, in order to move towards the goal of effective enforcement of the law prohibiting genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Based on Constructivist thinking, four key strategies - departures from traditional Positivist-Realist conceptions of the international legal system - are suggested as focal points for enhancing compliance with the laws in this area, these being: active differentiation between the target subjects of the law; utilization of the dual power of international humanitarian law; employing social norms and ethical values as motivations for compliance with the law; and embracing the informal compliance-inducing activities and powers of non-state actors. Applying these strategies to the humanitarian law enforcement project, a reversal of traditional perceptions of the influence of ethics and law in relation to individual and State target subjects respectively, is proposed as a future direction for enhancing compliance and furthering the prevention project in relation to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

<p>In the aftermath of World War Two, the International Community has shown a renewed commitment towards the protection of human rights. However, whether during wars or under dictatorial regimes, numerous human rights abuses occurred everywhere in the world, from Latin America to Eastern Europe and from Southern Europe to Africa. Countries which experienced oppressive governance or outrageous atrocities has to address the legacies of their past on the return of democratic rule or peace. In other words, they had to emerge from the darkness of dictatorship or civil war in order to establish a democracy. Today, after 14 years of civil war, Liberia is faced with the challenge of achieving a successful transition where the imperatives of truth, justice and reconciliation need to be met. The purpose of this research paper was to make some recommendations on the way the accountability process in Liberia should be shaped as far as prosecution is concerned.</p>

Originally presented as the author's thesis (PhD)--Wilhelms-Universität Münster, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references and index.

Thesis (M.S.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2008. / Thesis advisor: Timothy Rickard. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in International Studies." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-124). Also available via the World Wide Web.