The role of alternative justice mechanisms (AJMs) in international criminal justice (ICJ) has been the subject of rigorous debate in recent years. This thesis joins the discussion by investigating whether AJMs can achieve the aims of ICJ that are attributed to criminal prosecutions. If AJMs can attain ICJ goals, there are important implications for the entire complementarity regime at the International Criminal Court (ICC), requiring ICC judges to defer prosecutions in their favour. By establishing a framework against which ICC trials and AJMs can be evaluated, the thesis contributes to the debate and aims to provide an element of consistency in an area which is dominated by creative ambiguity. Arguing that criminal prosecutions have a limited impact on ICJ aims, the thesis considers AJMs generally before undertaking an in-depth historical and comparative analysis of the Mato Oput process in Uganda and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (SATRC). It concludes that Mato Oput does not satisfy the goals of ICJ and therefore would be unlikely to persuade the Court to defer prosecutions. It suggests, however, that an AJM based on the SATRC model would have the potential to attain many ICJ goals and therefore the ICC should declare a situation where the state adopts this method of justice and accountability inadmissible to the ICC. Finally, the thesis examines the decisions of the ICC judges in previous admissibility challenges and argues that they must demonstrate a broader and more flexible approach when interpreting the ICC's mandate if AJMs are to satisfy the complementarity principle. Doing so would also help to avert the growing antipathy of many African states towards the ICC and ensure the future support and co-operation of states parties.

Em conformidade com o direito internacional penal e o direito internacional dos direitos humanos, a presente dissertação de mestrado tem como objetivo verificar se o exercício da competência repressiva universal pelos tribunais nacionais constitui um mecanismo da justiça internacional penal capaz de auxiliar na promoção e na proteção dos direitos humanos. Para responder a esta indagação, três fontes do direito internacional foram analisadas neste estudo: a doutrina, a jurisprudência e a prática dos Estados. Neste sentido, além da exposição teórica, procedeu-se à análise dos principais casos em que o instituto foi aplicado e à pesquisa da legislação de alguns países sobre o tema. Este estudo verificou como a competência repressiva universal está inserida no momento de transição do direito internacional penal desencadeado pela crescente afirmação dos direitos humanos. / According to international criminal law and to international human rights law, this thesis aims to verify if the exercise of universal jurisdiction by national courts represents a mechanism of the international criminal justice able to promote and to strengthen human rights. In order to answer this question, three sources of international law were investigated: the teachings of publicists, judicial decisions and the internal law of some countries. This study assumed there is a transition going on in international law caused by the advances of human rights and analyzed how universal jurisdiction relates to it.

Alguns casos de extradição julgados pelo STF possuem especial relevância por apreciarem a ocorrência dos crimes internacionais. Assim, o estudo dessas decisões mostra-se importante para que se possa averiguar o efetivo exercício do direito internacional penal, que regula o tratamento especial dado a estes crimes. A presente Tese tem por objetivo averiguar a incidência das normas de direito internacional penal nos julgamentos do STF de pedidos de extradição. Apresenta-se, ainda, o impacto que o entendimento firmado nesses casos tem surtido no julgamento de outras ações, inclusive por outras esferas do Poder Judiciário brasileiro. Também é possível realizar um comparativo com o quanto decidido no julgamento da ADPF nº 153, em que se reafirmou a validade da lei de anistia brasileira, que, por sua vez, extinguiu a punibilidade dos crimes internacionais cometidos durante o Regime Militar no Brasil. Por fim, a partir desses estudos, enfatiza-se a necessidades de dar efetiva aplicação ao direito internacional penal nos julgamentos realizados no âmbito do STF. / Some extradition cases trialed at Brazil Supreme Court of Justice show special relevance because they deal with international crimes. Therefore, the study of these judicial decisions is important so that it can be possible to verify the effectiveness of International Criminal Law, which regulates the special treatment given to those crimes. The present Thesis aims to examine the incidence of the rules and principles of international criminal law by Brazilian Supreme Court at extradition trials. It also presents the impacts of the understanding exposed in those trials on other cases and actions, subjected to other organs of Brazils Judiciary system. It is either possible to create a comparative between the jurisprudence of extradition cases and what has been decided at the ADPF nº 153, reaffirming Brazilian amnesty law, which has granted amnesty to international crimes committed during Brazils military regime. Finally, trough these reviews, it emphasizes the need to give real enforcement to international criminal law when Brazils Supreme Court analyzes extradition requests.

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The Rome Statute saw the provision of three statutory rights for victims: the right to participation, protection, and reparations. The addition of these rights is an attempt to incorporate elements of restorative and reparative justice processes into a primarily retributive system. The emerging jurisprudence shows there are competing tensions developing in all areas. The right to participation saw initially broad decisions consistently scaled back by the Appeals Chamber to ensure a more streamlined approach. The right to protection, in contrast, has continued to be upheld by all Court levels resulting in significant trial challenges and delays. While the right to reparations remains untested, it is likely to only partially fulfill restorative aims. This thesis argues that while victim involvement has altered the traditional trial process, restorative aims will remain unmet. However, victim involvement has begun to shed light on the competing purposes of justice within the Rome Statute framework.

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In international criminal law (ICL), legal meaning has been developed substantially through the judgments of international courts. Compared to some of their prosecutorial decisions, however, the way in which international judges have interpreted legal provisions has remained relatively uncontested. This study uses practice theory as a particularly fruitful lens through which to study the politics of legal interpretation. It analyses the conditions under which the creation of a comparatively uncontested judicial space became possible as an interplay between political commitments and the professional assumptions of ICL experts. The study argues that international criminal courts - unlike hybrid courts - have been accorded a particularly high degree of interpretive authority through what will be called the 'practice of privileged precedent'. It traces how this interpretive practice has been shared across institutional settings within a broader interpretive community, including by government officials and civil society representatives. Through this research, this thesis emphasises the relevance of legal interpretation for IR's understanding of international law and international courts. Drawing on legal theory, it also addresses one of the key challenges of IR's practice turn: its capacity to account for the creative potential of international practices. Methodologically, the thesis combines qualitative and quantitative forms of content analysis, elite interviews, and legal interpretive methods. It is based on an examination of over 100 judgments of international and hybrid criminal courts interpreting the crime of genocide and the law of war crimes, including judicial decisions delivered by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL). This analysis is supplemented by 28 elite interviews with judges and legal experts at international criminal courts, staff at civil society organisations, and government officials working for the British and German foreign offices.

Magister Legum - LLM / The precise legal definition of crimes against humanity has always been elusive since their first codification in the IMT Charter in 1945. Jurisprudence applying the definition has reflected the uncertainty especially with regard to the contextual element that requires that crimes against humanity should be committed pursuant to some form of a policy of a state or organisation: The Policy Element. In the 1990s the ICTY in its early Decisions exhibited an inclination to broaden the scope of the application of crimes against humanity by downgrading the Policy Element to cover states and non-state actors in asymmetric armed conflicts. In 2002, this tendency culminated in the complete abandonment of the Policy Element requirement. Eminent international criminal law scholars are divided whether the ICTY was correct or not. At the same time, Article 7(2) (a) of ICC Statute has expressly provided for a downgraded Policy Element that somehow resonates with the ICTY as it covers states and organisations. In 2010, the Situation in the Republic of Kenya presented the ICC with a question whether the concept of organisation in Article 7(2) (a) of the Statute covers organisations generally or only state-like organisations. The Majority Decision resonated with the more recent jurisprudence of the ICTY and held that it covered all organisations. The Dissenting Opinion, however, restricted the Policy Element to only state-like organisations. This Research agrees with the recent ICTY position that has been reflected by the Majority Decision and postulates that the Policy Element should not be a requirement for crimes against humanity.

and Key words Master's Thesis: Protection of Cultural Heritage in International Criminal Law Abstract The aim of this master's thesis is mostly showing progressive development in understanding of protection of cultural heritage in International Criminal Law. There is special focus on development in recent years which is illustrated by Al Mahdi case- destroying cultural heritage in Timbuktu before International Criminal Court. This thesis is subdivided into three parts. The firts part is of descriptive nature and its goal is definition of basic notions, specification of issue of protection of cultural heritage and its setting in International Law. It also covers role of international agreements and international organizations in this issue. Finally it examines how International Criminal Law deals with protection of cultural heritage as well. There is stress on explanation of progressive development in understanding of protection of cultural heritage and reasons that caused it. The second part of thesis is mostly focused on Al Mahdi case that was tried before International Criminal Court. First there is brief characteristic of situation in Mali during armed conflict and description of area that was damaged too. Then there is specification of objective elements of crime and description of approach of...

This thesis deals with international criminal justice, which began to influence international politics during the last twenty years. After the end of the Cold War, a lot of armed conflicts were breaking out. They were accompanied by unprecedented inhuman acts and atrocities. The international community had to find a solution for how to respond to such events. In 1993, the United Nations Security Council acted under Chapter VII of The Charter of the United Nations and decided unanimously upon the establishing of an ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The Tribunal's role was to prosecute persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the Balkans conflict. A year later, in 1994, the Security Council decided to establish another ad hoc tribunal - The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which served to punish the architects of Rwandan genocide. Both tribunals sped up negotiations and the decision to establish the permanent International Criminal Court, whose objective is to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. The crime of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and in the future the crime of aggression. Firstly, this thesis analyses the ad...