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International Conflict and Security Law pp 1093–1109Cite as

War Crimes

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Abstract

War crimes are the most comprehensive category of crimes under international law. As criminal violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), they are widely penalised under domestic laws, including on the basis of the principle of universal jurisdiction, and are within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This chapter highlights the key milestones in the evolution of individual criminal responsibility for war crimes, and offers an overview of the concept under international criminal law (ICL).

Keywords

  • individual criminal responsibility
  • International Criminal Court (ICC)
  • international criminal law (ICL)
  • international humanitarian law (IHL)
  • universal jurisdiction
  • war crimes

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Cryer et a.l 2014, p. 264; Hathaway et al. 2019, pp. 54‒113; Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 443‒449.

  2. 2.

    Umarkhanova and Sayapin 2021, p. 23.

  3. 3.

    Cryer et al. 2014, p. 270; Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 444‒445.

  4. 4.

    Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 446‒448.

  5. 5.

    Sandoz 2008, pp. 297‒298.

  6. 6.

    Werle and Jessberger 2020, p. 4.

  7. 7.

    Cryer et al. 2014, p. 270; Sandoz 2008, p. 302; Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 6‒10.

  8. 8.

    Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 12‒13.

  9. 9.

    See Report of the Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, para VII(B)(5).

  10. 10.

    On the prosecution of war crimes by the Tokyo Tribunal, see Cryer 2016, Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 10–11.

  11. 11.

    Cryer et al. 2014, p. 270.

  12. 12.

    Bassiouni 2003, p. 141.

  13. 13.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 568; Hathaway et al. 2019, pp. 82–91.

  14. 14.

    Cryer et al. 2014, p. 265; Sandoz 2008, pp. 304–306; Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 445–446.

  15. 15.

    Cryer et al. 2014, p. 265; Sandoz 2008, pp. 295–297; Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 446–447. See also Chap. 18 by Tsybulenko and Platonova.

  16. 16.

    See Article 50 of the First Geneva Convention, Article 51 of the Second Geneva Convention, and Article 130 of the Third Geneva Convention. See also Sandoz 2008, p. 306.

  17. 17.

    Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 463–472.

  18. 18.

    Quoted in Werle and Jessberger 2020, p. 460.

  19. 19.

    Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 468–469.

  20. 20.

    Cryer et al. 2014, p. 272; Werle and Jessberger 2020, p. 456.

  21. 21.

    Cryer et al. 2014, p. 273; Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 456–457.

  22. 22.

    Werle and Jessberger 2020, p. 453.

  23. 23.

    Prosecutor v Tadic (Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction), Case No. ICTY-94-1-AR72, 2 October 1995, para 94.

  24. 24.

    Cf. Cryer et al. 2014, p. 285; Sandoz 2008, p. 310.

  25. 25.

    On the mental element of war crimes, see Werle and Jessberger 2020, pp. 476–478.

  26. 26.

    Cryer et al. 2014, p. 276.

  27. 27.

    Cryer et al. 2014, pp. 281–282.

  28. 28.

    However, note that the Court itself ruled that “the statutory requirement of either large-scale commission or part of a policy [was] not absolute”. Judgment on the Prosecutor’s Appeal Against the Decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I, Case No. ICC-01/04, Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 13 July 2006, para 70.

  29. 29.

    Sandoz 2008, pp. 318–321; Sayapin 2020, pp. 45–46.

  30. 30.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 569.

  31. 31.

    Hovell 2018, pp. 433–436; Kluven 2017, pp. 1–38; Sandoz 2008, pp. 319–320.

  32. 32.

    Cryer et al. 2014, pp. 53–56.

  33. 33.

    Cf. a classification of war crimes in Cryer et al. 2014, p. 265. See also May 2007, pp. 17–20.

  34. 34.

    Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1996, p. 226, para 95.

  35. 35.

    See Sayapin 2008.

  36. 36.

    See ICRC 2021.

  37. 37.

    Cryer et al. 2014, p. 271. See also Chap. 14 by Jeroen van den Boogaard (on chemical weapons) and Chap. 15 by Rustam Atadjanov (on nuclear weapons).

  38. 38.

    See, for example, Prosecutor v Musema, Judgment and Sentence, Case No. ICTR-96-13-A, 27 January 2000, paras 274 et seq; Prosecutor v Semanza, Judgment and Sentence, Case No. ICTR-97-20-T, 15 May 2003, para 358. See also Cryer et al. 2014, p. 282.

  39. 39.

    Prosecutor v Delalic et al (Celebici case appeal judgment), Case No. ICTY, IT-96-21-A, 20 February 2001, para 325.

  40. 40.

    Prosecutor v Akayesu, Judgment, Case No. ICTR-96-4-T, 2 September 1998, para. 640; Prosecutor v Kayishema and Ruzindana, Judgment, Case No. ICTR-95-1-T, 21 May 1999, paras 173–176.

  41. 41.

    Prosecutor v Akayesu, Judgment, Case No. ICTR-96-4-A, 1 June 2001, para 443.

  42. 42.

    Arnold 2002, pp. 344–359.

  43. 43.

    Dörmann 2003, pp. 34, 391–393.

  44. 44.

    Cryer et al. 2014, pp. 283–284. See also May 2007, pp. 44–47.

  45. 45.

    See also Articles 8–20 of Additional Protocol I, Articles 7–12 of Additional Protocol II (1977).

  46. 46.

    See also Articles 21–31 of Additional Protocol I, Article 11 of Additional Protocol II (1977).

  47. 47.

    See also Articles 44–45 of Additional Protocol I, Article 5 of Additional Protocol II (1977).

  48. 48.

    See also Articles 50–51 of Additional Protocol I, Articles 13, 14 and 17 of Additional Protocol II (1977).

  49. 49.

    Prosecutor v Tadic, Opinion and Judgment, Case No. ICTY-94-1, 7 May 1997, paras 118, 595.

  50. 50.

    Prosecutor v Tadic, Judgment, Case No. ICTY-94-1, 15 July 1999, para 166.

  51. 51.

    Ambos 2014, p. 149.

  52. 52.

    Prosecutor v Katanga et al. Decision on the confirmation of charges, Case No. ICC-01/04-01/07, 30 September 2008, para 289.

  53. 53.

    Ambos 2014, p. 149.

  54. 54.

    La Haye 2008, p. 119.

  55. 55.

    Prosecutor v Tadic, Opinion and Judgment, Case No. ICTY-94-1, 7 May 1997, para 615.

  56. 56.

    See Melzer 2010. See also Chap. 12 on DPH by Byron.

  57. 57.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 607.

  58. 58.

    See Article 49 of the First Geneva Convention, Article 50 of the Second Geneva Convention, Article 129 of the Third Geneva Convention, and Article 146 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

  59. 59.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 608.

  60. 60.

    Werle and Jessberger 2020, p. 450.

  61. 61.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, pp. 608–609.

  62. 62.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 609.

  63. 63.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 609.

  64. 64.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 609.

  65. 65.

    Werle and Vormbaum 2018, pp. 67–81.

  66. 66.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 611.

  67. 67.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 612.

  68. 68.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 612.

  69. 69.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 612.

  70. 70.

    Statement by the President of the Security Council, S/PRST/1994/59, p. 2.

  71. 71.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, p. 613.

  72. 72.

    Henckaerts and Doswald-Beck 2005, pp. 613–614.

  73. 73.

    On some immediate priorities for the ICC with respect to war crimes, see Atadjanov 2018. See also Chap. 30 by Vagias.

  74. 74.

    See Valuch and Hamulak 2018.

  75. 75.

    See Schmitt 2021.

  76. 76.

    Werle and Jessberger 2020, p. 462.

  77. 77.

    See generally Sayapin 2021.

  78. 78.

    Werle and Jessberger 2020, p. 462.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Akademia Krakowska AFM, Krakow, Poland

    Ewa Sałkiewicz-Munnerlyn

  2. School of Law, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Sergey Sayapin

Authors
  1. Ewa Sałkiewicz-Munnerlyn
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  2. Sergey Sayapin
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Correspondence to Sergey Sayapin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Dr. Sergey Sayapin

  2. School of Law, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Rustam Atadjanov

  3. National Law School of India, Pune, India

    Prof. Umesh Kadam

  4. Law and Social Sciences, University of Derby, Derby, UK

    Prof. Gerhard Kemp

  5. School of Law, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Dr. Nicolás Zambrana-Tévar

  6. Bristol Law School, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Prof. Noëlle Quénivet

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Sałkiewicz-Munnerlyn, E., Sayapin, S. (2022). War Crimes. In: Sayapin, S., Atadjanov, R., Kadam, U., Kemp, G., Zambrana-Tévar, N., Quénivet, N. (eds) International Conflict and Security Law. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-515-7_49

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