Abstract The article aims to discuss some of the underlying factors that have significantly hindered the ability of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL, or ‘the Tribunal’) to fulfil its mandate — bringing those responsible for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others to justice, and thereby bringing justice to victims. Since its inception, the Tribunal has been received with mixed feelings. On the one hand, given the inability and unwillingness of Lebanese domestic courts to deal with gross human rights violations — including heinous terrorist crimes — the esta ..read more

Abstract In many cases, and, in particular, in cases concerning crimes committed in the Syrian conflict, an overlap can be identified between international criminal law and counter-terrorism criminal law. The reason for this is the approximative and normative intertwining of these two areas in German criminal law. By way of counter-terrorism criminal law, Germany implemented an organizational crime of membership in an organization whose objective or activities are directed towards the commission of, inter alia, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, as well as murder. As a conseque ..read more

KaleckWolfgang and KrokerPatrick (eds), Syrian State Torture on Trial (bpb, 2023) in English, German and Arabic, 620 pp. €7,00, (available online as hardcopy and free pdf at www.bpb.de/shop/buecher/schriftenreihe/520965/syrische-staatsfolter-vor-gericht), ISBN 978-3-7425-0952-9 ..read more

Abstract This article discusses the main reasons behind the reluctance of most Arab countries to ratify the Rome Statute and to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC). There are legal, political, and practical restraints, as well as cultural barriers, to incorporating principles of individual criminal responsibility for international crimes into the domestic laws of most Arab countries. Moreover, many Arab states adopt a security-based approach to war crimes and crimes against humanity, which are thus prosecuted mainly under anti-terrorist laws, rather than a rule of law-based a ..read more

Abstract Digital open source information (DOSI) has emerged as a significant source of evidence for the International Criminal Court (‘the Court’) and other jurisdictions applying international criminal law. However, its use in litigation raises questions about who can be considered an expert in DOSI and what methods and safeguards they should adopt. This article examines how the Court can receive DOSI via expert evidence while maintaining rigorous fact-finding standards. It addresses challenges that DOSI introduces to the paradigm of expert testimony, including the lack of an overarching form ..read more

Abstract In seven trials to date, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has relied on the expertise of historians, anthropologists and political scientists to provide historical and political context. Overview expert witnesses help the judges appreciate the evidence of charged crimes in a wider context of conflict and violence. In this article, I consider the fundamental purpose and factors militating in favour of engaging an overview expert. In addition, I first review and then reflect on the current use of overview expert evidence — as a subset of expert evidence — in ICC trials, to better ..read more

Abstract Twenty years after the entry into force of the German Code of Crimes Against International Law, it is time for a critical assessment of its implementation and impact in practice. While a number of trials have been conducted and a certain prosecutorial practice has been established during the last decade, the law and practice nevertheless leave room for some criticism. This article addresses some of the criticism from the perspective of an NGO with experience in several international crimes cases, and deals with substantive and procedural law, as well as the issue of political case sel ..read more

Abstract This article explores the use of remorse as a source of leniency at international criminal tribunals. It outlines the difficulties that beset international tribunals’ attempts to develop a clear, consistent conceptualization of the idea of remorse. Using a range of perspectives, it offers ways forward in terms of both comprehending remorse, as experienced by perpetrators of international crimes, and incorporating remorse into the present international criminal legal framework. In particular, it analyses how sincere expressions of remorse within the international criminal courtroom can ..read more

Abstract This article takes the 20th anniversary of the entering into force of the German Code of Crimes against International Law (Völkerstrafgesetzbuch, CCAIL) as an opportunity to offer a historical review of the prosecution of international crimes in (West-)Germany. Starting from the post-World War II period, it flags early milestones, including efforts to hold accountable before German courts those involved in Nazi atrocities, in state oppression in the German Democratic Republic, in violations of international humanitarian law during the Yugoslav wars, and in dictatorship crimes in Argen ..read more

Abstract The German Code of Crimes Against International Law can be considered a ‘well-crafted’ law. It has not only been put to test in practice in several high-profile cases before German Higher Regional Courts, but it also serves as a model for the implementation of international criminal law into domestic legislation. Nevertheless, 20 years after its entry into force and from a point of view of substantive law, it is possible to identify areas of the Code that are in need of legislative reform, such as sexual and reproductive crimes, crimes against the environment, the crime of aggression ..read more