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INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW OVERVIEW

International criminal law is a relatively new and developing branch of public international law. Today, it is comprised of a body of laws that includes statutes, customary international law, and, to a lesser extent, case law as it evolves through the work of independent, international criminal tribunals. Other influences include international conventions and human rights laws.

When evaluating an international criminal law case, it is important to know INTERNATIONAL CRIMES AND COURTS
The roots of international criminal law go not much farther back than the International Military Tribunal at Nuremburg (IMT) during and after World War II where the new crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity were defined and tried for the first time. These offenses are known as the “crimes of crimes” Today, war crimes and crimes of aggression are also accepted as core offenses. The separate crimes of torture and terrorism have been widely criminalized, but are not yet considered bona fide crimes in the international plain.

In the 20th century, special ad hoc criminal Tribunals and Special Courts were commissioned and endowed with narrowly defined jurisdictional powers to adjudicate acts of allegedly criminal conduct by individuals. The 21st century now bears witness to the creation of the first truly International Criminal Court(ICC).

It is likely that the first trials at the ICC will follow the courtroom model of the international criminal tribunals—a hybrid of adversarial and inquisitive procedures that accurately reflects a joint common law civil law heritage. The ICC is also charged with creating a definition for the crime of aggression and for prosecuting the first cases under this new international crime.

International crimes may also be adjudicated in national courts, either in the country in which the alleged crimes were committed or in another country claiming the right under universal jurisdiction.

SCOPE AND JURISDICTION
International criminal law pertains to the criminal responsibility of individual for past acts that have been criminalized by statute. Jurisdiction is conferred by meeting certain territorial, temporal, subject matter, and individuality criteria—or some combination thereof. For example, the ICC has jurisdiction over the acts of individuals who are citizens of a party to the Rome Statute, for acts committed in violation of the Rome Statute after July 1, 2002.

Penalties for violations of international criminal laws include imprisonment for a period of time determined by the convicting court, with reference to the laws and penalties in effect in the country of origin, at the time the crimes were committed. Death penalties are not permitted in international criminal courts. Although international criminal courts do not assess reparations as part of sentencing, the ICC has the capacity to provide support to alleged victims through its controversial Victims Trust Fund.

International crimes are not transnational, or cross border crimes. International crimes are only committed by individuals, not states or non human legal entities. Disputes between states, particularly those involving alleged human rights violations, may be heard by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Court of Human Rights (ICHR), or national courts under state law.

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS
There are several types of international-criminal-tribunals in existence today. The International Criminal Court is the only one that is designed to be independent and autonomous of the United Nations or any national justice system. Other courts are either ad hoc creations of the United Nations or hybrid courts that apply two or more legal systems.