Conceptual Constructions: Responsibility for International Crimes and Universal Jurisdiction

Abstract

The co-existence and complementarity of the responsibility of States and the criminal responsibility of individuals is related to the current trend towards the criminalization of grave violations of human rights, as well as the relationship between State responsibility and the struggle against impunity and the endeavours towards the realization of justice. The e conceptualization of the crime of State, its configuration and the relationship of that notion with the superior interests of the community, deserve closer attention from contemporary legal doctrine, as much as the juridical consequences of the crime of State, and the principle of universal jurisdiction. The acts of particularly serious nature would correspond to international crimes affecting the fundamental values of the community, and the others - not revealing the same degree of gravity - would amount to international delicts.Keywords:crime of state; criminalization; human rights; community; crimes; responsibility; state responsibility; universal jurisdiction