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12 - Crimes Against Humanity and the International Criminal Court

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2011

By
Kai Ambos
Edited by
Leila Nadya Sadat
Kai Ambos
Affiliation:
University of Göttingen, Germany
Leila Nadya Sadat
Affiliation:
Washington University, St Louis
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Summary

This chapter examines the question of the need for a specialized Convention for Crimes against Humanity from the perspective of the existing protection granted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute. The ICC's role in the prevention and prosecution of crimes against humanity is predicated on its normative framework, especially article 7 of the ICC Statute. A critical analysis of this provision and its comparison with the definition in the Proposed International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity (Proposed Convention) lies at the heart of this chapter. A second, related issue to be dealt with is the ICC's effective capacity to prevent and prosecute crimes against humanity. This issue touches on one of the fundamental cornerstones of the criminal law: its possible effect of deterrence.

INTRODUCTION: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE OF CAH

The concept of Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) in its modern usage can be traced as far back as the declaration of May 28, 1915 by the governments of France, Great Britain, and Russia, relating to the massacres of the Armenian population in Turkey. In this declaration, the atrocities committed were described as “crimes against humanity for which all members of the Turkish Government will be held responsible together with its agents implicated in the massacres.” The novelty in this case was that the crimes were committed by citizens of a State on their own fellow citizens and not those of another State.

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Forging a Convention for Crimes against Humanity , pp. 279 - 304
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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