Principles of Criminal Responsibility: The General Part

Abstract

The general part of national criminal law usually reflects certain values and policies that determine the requirements for criminal responsibility and the factors or conditions that exonerate a person from such responsibility. The general part of international criminal law (ICL) developed haphazardly, first in the context of the international military tribunal (IMT) and IMT for the far east (IMTFE), and later in the international criminal tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) and international criminal tribunal for Ruwanda (ICTR) statutes and their respective case law. The combination of common and Civilist ideas in the making of the ad hoc tribunals and later the Rome Statute, allowed for the inclusion of joint criminal enterprise as a form of criminal responsibility. The multiplicity of legal sources defining the defense makes it difficult to ascertain with specificity the scope, contents, and legal standards applicable to obedience to superior orders.Keywords:criminal responsibility; international criminal law (ICL); international criminal tribunal for Ruwanda (ICTR); international criminal tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY); international military tribunal (IMT); Rome Statute