At the outset, it has to be noticed that crimes against international law are committed by men, not by abstract entities, and international law will achieve its goals only if those responsible for crimes will be brought to justice. The principle of individual criminal responsibility of Heads’ of State for crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes and torture (elaborated in the Nuremberg Charter) is part of customary international law. The principle is embodied in the resolutions of the UN General Assembly – Principles of Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and the Judgment of the Tribunal (1950); international treaties – Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), Geneva Conventions (1949), Convention against Torture and Other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (1984), Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998); other international instruments – UN Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind (1996), Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (1993) (also clarified in the proceedings brought before the former Yugoslavian leader S. Milosevic) and Rwanda (1994); decisions of national courts – the UK House of Lords decisions in the Pinochet case (1998 -1999); extradition requests sent and honoured by executive officials – Belgium international arrest warrant for H. Habre (2005) and African Union requests; state proposals for international... [to full text]