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International Crimes and Human Rights Abuses

Module description

This module innovatively adopts a two-fold legal approach – based on international criminal law and international human rights law – as well as, where relevant, an interdisciplinary perspective, turning to criminology, history and /or forensic science.

With this module, you will undertake an in-depth study of different international crimes (see syllabus plan) and explore the relevant domestic, regional and international law and case-law. You will apply this knowledge in the dedicated case-study sessions.

This approach will enable you to fully understand the concept of international criminality in terms of prohibited acts, criminal modus operandi and victimhood. It will also allow you to understand the nature, causes and consequences of this type of violence.

While prior knowledge of international criminal law is desirable, it is not mandatory and there are no pre-requisites for you to take this module.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module is based on research-enriched teaching and aims at providing you with the necessary skills to critically reflect on the law and case law as well as on the research and literature related to international crimes. The module also aims at equipping you with the required knowledge and understanding to identify the challenges faced by international criminal law and international human rights law in preventing, investigating and punishing this type of violence and to assess the effectiveness of legal and enforcement measures at the domestic, regional and international levels. The dedicated case-study sessions will provide you with the ability to apply knowledge to practical cases and to solve problems related to the prevention and prosecution of international crimes at the domestic, regional and international levels.

This module provides you with specialist knowledge that is key to embark in a career in international criminal law and justice, including within the domestic arena.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate specialised knowledge and understanding of international crimes from the perspective of both international criminal law and international human rights law.
• 2. Demonstrate specialised knowledge and understanding to solve problems related to the prevention and prosecution of international crimes at the domestic, regional and international levels.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Demonstrate enhanced knowledge and understanding of the wider context in which international crimes occur and of how this context can impact the prevention, investigation and punishment of this type of criminality.
• 4. Demonstrate enhanced knowledge and understanding of the wider international context in which international criminal law and international human rights law operate and the role they have to play in the prevention and prosecution of international crimes.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Independently collect, evaluate and apply relevant legislation, case law and literature related to a complex legal problem raised by the nature, prevention, investigation and prosecution of international crimes.
• 6. Independently engage in academic discourse on the nature, prevention, investigation and prosecution of international crimes with peers from a variety of backgrounds.
• 7. Make a complex argument concerning the nature, prevention, investigation and prosecution of international crimes understandable in written and spoken English, to peers from a variety of backgrounds.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover all or some of the following topics:

• Introduction to international crimes and atrocities
• Armed conflicts and atrocities
• The crime of genocide
• The crime against humanity of extermination
• The crime against humanity of persecution
• The crime against humanity of apartheid
• The crime against humanity of enforced disappearances
• The crime against humanity of torture

Case studies (indicative):

• The 1994 Rwanda genocide against the Tutsi
• The Srebrenica genocide

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Aksenova, Marina, van Sliedregt, Elies and Parmentier, Stephan, Breaking the Cycle of Mass Atrocities – Criminological and Socio-Legal Approaches in International Criminal Law, Oxford: Hart, 2019.?
• Schabas, William, Unimaginable Atrocities - Justice, Politics, and Rights at the War Crimes Tribunals, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
• Smeulers, Alette and Grünfeld, Fred, International Crimes and other Gross Human Rights Violations – A Multi- and Interdisciplinary Textbook, Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2011.?
• Smeulers, Alette, Weerdesteijn, Maartje and Holá, Barbora, Perpetrators of International Crimes – Theories, Methods, and Evidence, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – Faculty to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages
• International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: http://www.icty.org/
• International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: http://unictr.irmct.org/
• International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals: http://www.irmct.org/en
• International Criminal Court: http://www.icc-cpi.int/
• Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia: https://www.eccc.gov.kh/en
• Special Court for Sierra Leone: http://www.rscsl.org/

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• International Criminal Law Review (ICLR)
• Journal of International Criminal Justice (JICJ)
• Leiden Journal of International Law (LJIL)

Key words search

International criminal law, war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity