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International Criminal Law and Justice

Module description

International Criminal Law and Justice is a very fast-growing and highly contemporary legal subject. On the module, you will explore international crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, aggression – and undertake an in-depth study of the functioning of international(ised) courts and tribunals. There will be dedicated case law sessions to specifically examine selected situations and judgments. The module adopts a critical approach to fully understand the role and effectiveness of international criminal justice as well as the challenges it faces.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module is based on research-enriched teaching and aims at providing you with the necessary skills to critically reflect on both substantive and procedural aspects of international criminal law and on the future of international criminal justice. The module also aims to equip you with the required knowledge to understand the evolution of international crimes, the concept of individual criminal responsibility, and the functioning of various international(ised) criminal tribunals and courts. The dedicated case law sessions will provide you with the ability to apply knowledge to practical cases and situations, and to identify and address challenges related to the investigation and prosecution of international crimes. The module provides you with specialist knowledge that is key to embarking on 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 advanced and critical understanding, as well as detailed knowledge, of legal institutions that have been established to investigate and prosecute international crimes;
• 2. demonstrate detailed knowledge of the law relating to international crimes, criminal procedure and aspects of individual criminal responsibility;
• 3. demonstrate specialised knowledge and understanding to solve problems raised by the implementation and enforcement of international criminal law, procedure and case law, at the domestic and international levels.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

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

• 4. demonstrate advanced knowledge and a deep, critical understanding of a range of legal concepts, values, principles, institutions and procedures, and the ability to explain the relationships between them;
• 5. demonstrate autonomous and competent ability to apply acquired legal knowledge to complex social and contextual problems, critically assess and evaluate information using appropriate interpretative techniques, and clearly present your own arguments;
• 6. demonstrate an ability to independently select and integrate information from a wide range of relevant primary and advanced secondary legal and social-legal sources.

ILO: Personal and key skills

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

• 7. demonstrate the ability to prepare analytical work that relies on a wide range of relevant, independently-researched resources, efficiently engaging with these in order to develop nuanced and comprehensive lines of argument;
• 8. demonstrate the ability to communicate and engage in debate effectively, confidently and autonomously, in a manner appropriate to the discipline.

Syllabus plan

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

• Introduction to international crimes and international criminal justice
• Crimes against humanity
• The crime of genocide
• War crimes
• The crime of aggression
• Defences and immunities
• Modes of participation and liability
• Investigation, gathering of evidence and pre-trial procedure
• Trial procedure, including admissibility of evidence and participation of victims and witnesses
• Sentencing and post-trial procedure

Case law sessions (indicative):

• The Prosecutor v. Akayesu, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, ICTR-96-04, Trial Judgment, 2 September 1998.
• The Prosecutor v. Lukic and Lukic, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, IT-98-32/1, Trial Judgment, 20 July 2009.
• The Prosecutor v. Mladic, International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, MICT-13-56, Appeals Judgment, 8 June 2021.
• The Prosecutor v. Ongwen, International Criminal Court, ICC-02/04-01/15-1762-Red, Trial Judgment, 4 February 2021.

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

C. Stahn, A Critical Introduction to International Criminal Law (Cambridge University Press, 2019)
R. Cryer, D. Robinson, S. Vasiliev, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, 4th edition (Oxford University Press, 2019)
W. A. Schabas, An Introduction to the International Criminal Court, 5th edition (Cambridge University Press, 2017)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Useful websites (full texts of legal documents, cases & judgments):

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

Journal of International Criminal Justice (JICJ)
International Criminal Law Review (ICLR)
Leiden Journal of International Law (LJIL)
Criminal Law Forum du Droit International (C L For)
American Journal of International Law (AJIL)
European Journal of International Law (EJIL)
International and Comparative Law Quarterly (ICLQ)
Journal of Conflict and Security Law (JCSL)
Criminal Law Forum (CFL)

Key words search

International criminal law, crimes against humanity, genocide, war crimes , aggression, International Criminal Court, Rome Statute, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Special Court for Sierra Leone, prosecution, investigation, sentencing.