CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR DISINFORMATION ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LAW

Abstract

Media disinformation is an international crime that carries with it international criminal culpability for its perpetrators. All elements of international crime from the legal, material, moral, and international pillars are present in media disinformation. The legal pillar consists of the international texts found in international conventions, declarations, covenants, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols, and others, which all stipulate combating media disinformation, whether in times of peace or armed conflict. The material pillar is only represented by behavior; therefore, it is an offense of behavior and not of results. For the establishment of international criminal responsibility, the law does not require the occurrence of the result, but only the commission of criminal acts. As for the moral element, it necessitates the presence of criminal intent, represented by knowledge and will, both of which are present in the media misinformation crime. We have noted the presence of an international element in the crime of disinformation, which necessitates a culpability criterion. We discussed the topic of international criminal responsibility, where it was discovered that jurists attributed the subject of responsibility to three orientations to explain international responsibility. The first trend is to restrict accountability to the state alone. The second trend is the consolidation of state and individual responsibility. The third tendency, which is the predominant trend in international justice, is to position it in the hands of individuals.