'Unless Otherwise Provided':: Article 30 of the ICC Statute and the Mental Element of Crimes under International Criminal Law

Abstract

For the first time in international criminal law, Article 30 of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute (ICCSt.) codifies a mental element as a general requirement for individual criminal responsibility. Moreover, Article 30 seeks to set a uniform standard - intent and knowledge - for the mental element, applicable to all crimes under international criminal law. The authors show that Article 30 establishes subjective conditions of liability which depart significantly from the ones that can be found in other provisions of the ICC Statute, the Elements of Crimes and customary international law. The authors argue that the `unless otherwise provided` clause included in Article 30(1) ICCSt. plays a vital role for a consistent and coherent application of international criminal law. They conclude that Article 30 ICCSt. should be interpreted as a default rule that is applied only in the few cases where there are no specific rules on the mental element in either the other provisions of the ICC Statute, the Elements of Crimes or in customary international law.