Part 2 Attributing Criminal Responsibility, 6 Forms of Criminal Responsibility

Abstract

This chapter discusses forms of criminal responsibility from a comparative and international perspective. They include direct and indirect perpetration, co-perpetration, instigation — including ordering, soliciting, and inducing — planning, and aiding/abetting. These modalities can be referred to as ‘classic’ or ‘general’ in the sense that they feature in most international statutes and have equivalents in national criminal codes, often in the general part. The comparative perspective is important and has been added for two reasons. First of all, because the link with national criminal law is strongest with these forms of criminal responsibility; they are largely modelled on municipal criminal law. Secondly, a comparative perspective is useful in discerning the scope and limits of these concepts. Moreover, it may assist in understanding these concepts when used in the international arena. After all, judges and other legal practitioners at international courts and tribunals understand these forms of responsibility from their own national perspective, which may cause — and has caused — misunderstandings.