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01-THE PRINCIPLES of DISTINCTION.Indd ISSN:1692-8156 THE PRINCIPLES OF DISTINCTION AND PROPORTIONALITY UNDER THE FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY –CONTENT AND ISSUES–* LOS PRINCIPIOS DE DISTINCIÓN Y PROPORCIONALIDAD EN EL MARCO DE LA RESPONSABILIDAD PENAL INTERNACIONAL INDIVIDUAL –CONTENIDO Y PROBLEMÁTICA– MARCO ALBERTO VELÁSQUEZ-RUIZ** Reception date: March 25th, 2009 Acceptance date: April 14th, 2009 TO CITE THIS ARTICLE / PARA CITAR ESTE ARTÍCULO Marco Alberto Velásquez-Ruiz, The Principles of Distinction and Proportional- ity under the Framework of International Criminal Responsibility –Content and Issues–, 14 International Law, Revista Colombiana de Derecho Internacional, 15-42 (2009). * Paper produced within the research group Centro de Estudios de Derecho Internacional y Derecho Global Francisco Suárez S.J., at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. ** LLB., Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (2005); International Law Professional Courses, The Hague Academy of International Law (2005) and the Organization of American States (2007); Master candidate in International Law, The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies – Geneva, Switzerland (2010). The author wishes to thank Professor Vincent Chetail, for his valuable comments and guidance during the writing of this article. Contact: [email protected]. Int. Law: Rev. Colomb. Derecho Int. ildi. Bogotá (Colombia) N° 14: 15-42, enero-junio de 2009 16 MARCO ALBERTO VELÁSQUEZ-RUIZ ABSTRACT This article seeks to illustrate how the Principles of Distinction and Proportionality, coming from a branch of primary rules (International Humanitarian Law) have a relevant influence on the modern system of international criminal responsibility, consecrated in the Statute of the International Criminal Court, ICC. It is found that even if the latter contains provisions –war crimes– reproaching conducts due to their indiscriminate character, there are gaps related with the meaning and extension of such criminal conducts; this problematic is explained on one hand, by the political reluctance of States to compromise their sovereignty, and the specificities of the punitive function on the other. Practical consequences can be seen on the way on which modern armed conflicts take place, as most of them take place in a non-international level. Despite of a pessimist diagnosis, it has to be firmly pointed that the sole fact that a permanent criminal court has came to be a reality is a tremendous gain, provided that it is through its activity i.e. the produc- tion of clarifying jurisprudence, that this problems will be confronted and solved. Key words author: International Criminal Court, Criminal Responsibility, In- ternational Humanitarian Law, Distinction between Civilians and Combatants, Principle of Proportionality. Key words plus: International Criminal Court, Criminal liability, International Humanitarian Law, Combatants and noncombatants. Int. Law: Rev. Colomb. Derecho Int. ildi. Bogotá (Colombia) N° 14: 15-42, enero-junio de 2009 DISTINCTION AND PROPORTIONALITY UNDER INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY 17 RESUMEN Este artículo busca ilustrar cómo los Principios de Distinción y Proporciona- lidad, provenientes de un conglomerado de normas primarias (Derecho Inter- nacional Humanitario, DIH), han influenciado el sistema de responsabilidad penal internacional, consagrado en el Estatuto de Roma. Se observa que aun cuando este último contiene provisiones legales que reprochan conductas de tipo indiscriminado, hay un vacío relacionado con el significado y la extensión de dichos comportamientos; dicha problemática se explica, de un lado, por la reticencia que tienen los Estados en comprometer su soberanía y, del otro, por las especificidades de la función punitiva de la Corte. Las consecuencias prácticas de esta situación se pueden apreciar en el escenario de los conflictos armados internos, ya que la mayoría de éstos se desarrolla en este ámbito. A pesar de un diagnóstico pesimista, debe señalarse que el mero hecho de que una corte penal permanente haya emergido como una realidad tangible constituye una ganancia, ya que es mediante su actividad –la producción de jurisprudencia que establezca el contenido y alcance de las normas– que los inconvenientes pueden ser confrontados y resueltos. Palabras clave autor: Corte Penal Internacional, responsabilidad penal, Derecho Internacional Humanitario, distinción entre civiles y combatientes, Principio de Proporcionalidad. Palabras clave descriptor: Corte Penal Internacional, Responsabilidad penal, Derecho internacional humanitario, Combatientes y no combatientes (Derecho internacional). SUmmARY INTRODUCTION.- I. PRELIMINARY MATTERS ON THE RELEVANT LEGAL BRANCHES. A. The relation between International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law.- B. The Principles under the framework of International Humanitarian Law.- II. GENERAL ISSUES ARISING FROM THE STRUCTURE OF ARTICLE 8 OF THE ICC STATUTE.- A. Issues around the dichotomy civilian/combatant.- B. War crimes in the context of a non-international armed conflict.-1. Distinction and Proportional- ity.- 2. Location of the Principles on International Humanitarian Law.- C. Issues on the customary nature of the primary rules vis à vis the Principle of Legality under the Statute.- III. PRAGMATIC ISSUES ON DISTINCTION AND PROPORTIONALITY.- A. Structure of war crimes and the place of the Principles on the International Criminal Court Statute.- B. Prohibition to intentionally direct attacks against civilians.- C. Concrete provisions related to the Principle of Proportionality.- 1. Methods of warfare.- 2. Means of warfare. IV. FINAL REMARK ON CIVILIANS TAKING ACTIVE PART IN HOSTILITIES.- V. CONCLUSIONS.- BIBLIOGRAPHY. Int. Law: Rev. Colomb. Derecho Int. ildi. Bogotá (Colombia) N° 14: 15-42, enero-junio de 2009 18 MARCO ALBERTO VELÁSQUEZ-RUIZ INTRODUCTION One of the greatest paradoxes of International Law is the one related with war; even if nowadays the use of force is forbidden as a breach to the international legal order1 since it constitutes a massive viola- tion to human dignity and contravene elemental considerations of humanity, there is a whole normative set which is to determine how hostilities have to be conducted. For that reason, and looking to establish a balance between these two extremes, the distinction between combatants and civilians is the cornerstone of all humanitarian law,2 and therefore, has a tre- mendous influence on the regime of international individual penal responsibility, as in practice by far the most numerous crimes are committed against civilians.3 The purpose of this article is to establish the content, scope and pragmatic problems of the Principles of Distinction and Proportion- ality, inspirational elements of the so-called category of war crimes under International Criminal Law. In order to do that, section II will briefly raise two topics; first, illustrate some basic aspects of the relation between International Humanitarian Law (IHL, henceforth) as a norme de comportement, and International Criminal Law while a branch of international law which its primarily task is to ascertain individual criminal respon- sibility; and second, as a way to understand the practical implica- tions of those Principles in the context of a punitive sanction, due attention will be regarded to the content and scope of Distinction and Proportionality, showing the process which lead to get to their modern formulation through the rules of IHL. Consequently, and provided that the focal point of the article is the influence of those principles into the modern system of individual 1 “We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind (…).” Pre- amble of the UN Charter. 2 Vincent Chetail, The Contribution of the International Court of Justice to International Hu- manitarian Law. 850 International Review of the Red Cross, 253 (2003). 3 Antonio Cassese, International Criminal Law, 88 (2nd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2008). Int. Law: Rev. Colomb. Derecho Int. ildi. Bogotá (Colombia) N° 14: 15-42, enero-junio de 2009 DISTINCTION AND PROPORTIONALITY UNDER INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY 19 criminal responsibility, it will be analyzed first, various common matters which influence the structure of war crimes, and second, the content of the legal provisions related to war crimes under the Statute of the International Criminal Court4 (the ICC Statute, hereafter), specifically those directly inspired by the universal formulations in comment, which may be divided in a general prohibition, on one hand, and their concrete application in the sphere of methods and means of warfare, on the other. This is so in order to identify their basic penal structure, that is to say, the objective and subjective elements, and some circumstances which might lead to the exclusion of the unlawfulness of the conduct or the criminal responsibility. Hence, the study will address some problematic issues arising from the way the Statute was set forth, as it reflects the political position of the States tending to limit the possibility to punish some conducts provided the nature of modern armed conflicts and the subjects which take part on them. Finally, there will be displayed some conclusions on the challenges for International Criminal Law in respect of these specific situations. As a transversal resource, relevant international jurisprudence5 will illustrate the way that International Criminal
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