Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland Galway Introduction to International Criminal Law LW520 - SEMESTER 1 - Course Outline 2014-2015 -
The course introduces postgraduate students to the subject of international criminal law. During the course, students will explore the Objective history and development of international criminal law, the established crimes under international law, the mechanisms of international criminal justice and general principles of international criminal law. Name Office Ext E-mail Dr. Shane Room 206 3947 [email protected] Lecturer(s) Darcy Office Hours: Mon. 2 - 3.30pm Venue Lecture Times Seminar room, Irish Thursdays 3pm-6pm Centre for Human Rights On successful completion of this course, you will: have knowledge and understanding of the rules, principles and machinery of international criminal justice be familiar with the sources of international criminal law in treaty and customary law Overall have a general understanding of the applicable concepts of criminal Learning law and the principles established in the major cases of the Outcomes international tribunals be able to carry out effective research in the field of international criminal law and be familiar with the major literature and policy documents and emerging legal instruments
The course will be taught by weekly seminars, each three hours, over twelve weeks. Students are expected to have read all prescribed readings in advance of each seminar, thus requiring independent study Format of 8-10 hours each week, and will be expected to engage actively in discussion and to participate in various hands on exercises and activities.
Programme(s) LL.M in International Criminal Law, full-time and part-time.
Syllabus will be available on the website of the Irish Centre for Human Course Material Rights (www.nuigalway.ie/human_rights) and can be downloaded from Blackboard at http://blackboard.nuigalway.ie.
Texts Required: Robert Cryer, Hakan Friman, Darryl Robinson and Elizabeth Wilmshurst, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and
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Procedure, 3rd edn., Cambridge University Press, 2014. Cases and Materials on International Criminal Law, Galway: Irish Centre for Human Rights, 2010, available on Blackboard.
Additional: William A. Schabas, Introduction to the International Criminal Court, 4th edn., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Antonio Cassese & Paola Gaeta, Cassese’s International Criminal Law, 3rd edn., Oxford University Press, 2013. Alexander Zahar and Göran Sluiter, International Criminal Law, Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. William A. Schabas and Nadia Bernaz, Routledge Handbook of International Criminal Law, Routledge, 2011. William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals; for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Blackboard Course syllabus and certain materials will be posted at http://blackboard.nuigalway.ie. Books are available in the library and most other materials are available online. Journals International Journal of Criminal Justice, Criminal Law Forum, International Criminal Law Review, Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, Journal of Conflict and Security Law etc. Websites Website of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Resources Yugoslavia: www.icty.org Website of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: www.ictr.org Website of the International Criminal Court: www.icc-cpi.int Website of the Special Court for Sierra Leone: www.sc-sl.org Website of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon: www.stl-tsl.org Website of the Extraordinary Chambers in the courts of Cambodia: www.eccc.gov.kh Oxford Reports on International Criminal Law: www.oxfordlawreports.com Oxford Scholarship Online: www.oxfordscholarship.com
Evaluation is undertaken through the submission of an essay (maximum 10,000 words including footnotes) which should demonstrate significant research, familiarity with the literature, independent thought and critical analysis. Essays are to be submitted Assessment in hardcopy and electronically via Blackboard. Class participation may be taken into account for up to 10% of the mark and may be added to the essay mark to achieve the final conditional mark. Submission date is set out in the general ‘Guidelines for LLM students’. Workload Credit weighting: 15 ECTS hours Lecture hours: 36
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Associated hours: 24 Independent study: 290 Total Student Effort: 350 hours
Topics
Week 1: Introduction (Sept 18th)
Required Reading: Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapters 1 & 2. William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals, Chapter 3. Principles of International Law Recognised by the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, U.N. Doc. A/1316 (1950), Cases and Materials, p. 53. Marlise Simmons, ‘Hague Judge Faults Acquittal of Serb and Croat Commanders’, New York Times, 14 June 2013. Julian Borger, ‘Hague court under Western pressure not to open Gaza war crimes inquiry’, The Guardian, 18 August 2014.
*** Film Screening *** ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’, Wednesday, Sept 24th, 5.30pm, ICHR Seminar room
Week 2: History of International Prosecution (Sept 25th)
Required Reading: Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter 6. ‘Historical documents’, Cases and Materials, pp. 1-48. Nuremberg judgment, France et al. v. Goering et al., Cases and Materials, pp. 85-106. William A. Schabas and Nadia Bernaz, Routledge Handbook of International Criminal Law, Chapter 1 ‘Trial at Nuremberg’ (Guénaël Mettraux) and Chapter 2 ‘The Tokyo Trial’ (Neil Boister). United States v. Ohlendorf, Cases and Materials, pp. 160-179.
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Week 3: International, ‘internationalised’ and national tribunals and the enforcement of international criminal law (October 2nd)
Required Reading: Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapters 7, 8 & 9. William A. Schabas, Introduction to the International Criminal Court, Chapters 1 and 2. Prosecutor v. Tadic, Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, 1995, Cases and Materials, pp. 208-225. Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Cases and Materials, pp. 54-60. Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Cases and Materials, pp. 61. Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Cases and Materials, pp. 62-66. Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Cases and Materials, pp. 67-72. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Cases and Materials, pp. 73-84.
*** Film Screening *** ‘A Good Man in Hell’, Wednesday, October 8th, 5.30pm, ICHR Seminar room
Week 4: Genocide (October 9th)
Required Reading: Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter 10. William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals, Chapter 6. Alexander Zahar & Göran Sluiter, International Criminal Law, Chapter 5. Bashir Arrest Warrant decision, Cases and Materials, pp. 355-373. Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, Cases and Materials, pp. 506-512. Genocide Convention, Cases and Materials, pp. 49-50. Article 6, Elements of Crimes, Cases and Materials, pp. 51-52.
Week 5: Guest Lecture: Justice Teresa Doherty, Special Court for Sierra Leone (October 16th)
*** Film Screening *** ‘The Killing Fields’, Wednesday, October 22nd, 5.30pm, ICHR Seminar room
Week 6: Crimes Against Humanity (October 23rd)
Required Reading: Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter 11. William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals, Chapter 7. ICC, Authorisation to Open an Investigation in the Situation in Kenya, 31
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March 2010, paragraphs 77-99; Dissenting Opinion of Judge Kaul, paragraphs 21-70. Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Cases and Materials, pp. 349-354. Prosecutor v. Kordić & Čerkez, Cases and Materials, pp. 230-233. Comparison of definitions of crimes against humanity, Cases and Materials, pp. 521- 525.
*** Film Screening *** ‘Katyn’, Wednesday, October 29th, 5.30pm, ICHR Seminar room
Week 7: War Crimes (October 30th)
Required Reading: Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter 12. Shane Darcy, Judges, Law & War; the Judicial Development of International Humanitarian Law, Cambridge, 2013, pp. 265-292. William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals, Chapter 8, pp. 226- 249. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 8. Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Articles 2-3. Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Article 4. Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Articles 3-4. Week 8: Aggression (November 6th)
Required Reading: Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter 13. William A. Schabas and Nadia Bernaz, Routledge Handbook of International Criminal Law, Chapter 10 ‘Aggression’ (Nicolas Strapatsas). Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Articles 5, 8bis, 15bis, 15ter, 25. Review Conference Resolution on the Crime of Aggression, Cases and Materials, pp. 536-538. Case Concerning Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda), Cases and Materials, pp. 234-244. Week 9: Jurisdiction and Admissibility (November 13th)
Required Readings: William A. Schabas, Introduction to the International Criminal Court, Chapters 3 (pp. 62-87), 4 and 5. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Articles 11-20 Statement of the Office of the Prosecutor on Iraq, Cases and Materials, pp. 513-517. Declaration Recognising the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, Cases and Materials, p. 518. ICC Office of the Prosecutor, ‘Situation in Palestine’, 3 April 2013, available at: http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/C6162BBF-FEB9-4FAF-AFA9- 836106D2694A/284387/SituationinPalestine030412ENG.pdf
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Week 10: Reading Week (November 20th)
Week 11: Modes of Criminal Liability (November 27th)
Required Readings: Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter 15. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Articles 25 & 28. Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Article 7. Prosecutor v. Tadic, Appeals Chamber Judgment, 15 July 1999, paras 178-237. Prosecutor v. Lubanga, ICC-01/04-01/06, Trial Chamber, Judgment, 14 March 2012, paragraphs 917-1018. Prosecutor v. Perišić, Case No. IT-04-81-A, Appeals Chamber, Judgment, 28 February 2013, paragraphs 26-36. Prosecutor v. Bemba Gombo, Case No. ICC-01/05/-01/08, Decision Pursuant to Article 61(7)(a) and (b) of the Rome Statute on the Charges, Pre-Trial Chamber II, 15 June 2009, paragraphs 404-443.
Week 12: Defences and Immunities (December 4th)
Required Reading: Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapters 16 & 21. Paola Gaeta, ‘Does President Al Bashir Enjoy Immunity from Arrest?’, 7(2) Journal of International Criminal Justice (2009) 315. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Articles 31-33. Case Concerning Arrest Warrant (Yerodia case), Cases and Materials, pp. 226-229. Prosecutor v. Erdemovic, Cases and Materials, pp. 292-348.
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