Collective Responsibility and Accountability under International Law examines the extent to which the basic principle of individual responsibility accommodates liability for the acts of others. It examines the debates and legal developments surrounding collective responsibility under international law. The philosophical debates on collective responsibility provide an introduction to the examination of whether collective responsibility is ever appropriate or even lawful under international law. As the international criminal justice project begins to flourish, it is of paramount importance that the extent of the potential liability of individuals for the acts of others is clarified and held up to rigorous scrutiny. It is of equal importance that there is a clear understanding of whether the means of responding to ongoing violations of international humanitarian law can include measures based on collective responsibility. Global events have created an impetus for the parameters of responsibility to be clearly defined. The rise of non-State actors within the international legal regime raises complex questions surrounding their status, power and the means for holding them accountable. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

Ideas of collective responsibility challenge the doctrine of individual responsibility that is the dominant paradigm in law and liberal political theory. But little attention is given to the consequences of holding groups accountable for wrongdoing. Groups are not amenable to punishment in the way that individuals are. Can they be punished – and if so, how – or are other remedies available? The topic crosses the borders of law, philosophy and political science, and in this volume specialists in all three areas contribute their perspectives. They examine the limits of individual criminal liability in addressing atrocity, the meanings of punishment and responsibility, the distribution of group punishment to a group's members, and the means by which collective accountability can be expressed. In doing so, they reflect on the legacy of the Nuremberg Trials, on the philosophical understanding of collective responsibility, and on the place of collective accountability in international political relations.

"Ideas of collective responsibility challenge the doctrine of individual responsibility that is the dominant paradigm in law and liberal political theory. But little attention is given to the consequences of holding groups accountable for wrongdoing. Groups are not amenable to punishment in the way that individuals are. Can they be punished - and if so, how - or are other remedies available? The topic crosses the borders of law, philosophy, and political science, and in this volume specialists in all three areas contribute their perspectives. They examine the limits of individual criminal liability in addressing atrocity, the meanings of punishment and responsibility, the distribution of group punishment to a group's members, and the means by which collective accountability can be expressed. In doing so, they reflect on the legacy of the Nuremberg Trials, on the philosophical understanding of collective responsibility, and on the place of collective accountability in international political relations"--

Exploring theoretical foundations for the distribution of shared responsibility, this book provides a basis for the development of international law.

This book offers a unique comparison between state and individual responsibility for international crimes and examines the theories that can explain the relationship between these two regimes. The study provides a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the relevant international practice from the standpoint of both international criminal law, and in particular the case law of international criminal tribunals, and state responsibility. The author shows the various connections and issues arising from the parallel establishment of state and individual responsibility for the commission of the same international crimes. These connections indicate a growing need to better co-ordinate these regimes of international responsibility. The author maintains that a general conception, according to which state and individual responsibility are two separate sets of secondary rules attached to the breach of the same primary norms, can help to solve the various issues relating to this dual responsibility. This conception of the complementarity between state and individual responsibility justifies co-ordination and consistent application of these two different regimes, each of which aims to foster compliance with the most important obligations owed to the international community as a whole.

This title analyses the concept of sharing responsibility between states for protecting refugees under international law, and how this mechanism highlights serious concerns for the protection of refugees' rights.

This book examines international criminal law from a normative perspective and lays out how responsible agents, individuals and the collectives they comprise, ought to be held accountable to the world for the commission of atrocity. The author provides criteria for determining the kinds of actions that should be addressed through international criminal law. Additionally, it asks, and answers, how individual responsibility can be determined in the context of collectively perpetrated political crimes and whether an international criminal justice system can claim universality in a culturally plural world. The book also examines the function of international criminal law and finally considers how the goals and purposes of international law can best be institutionally supported. This book is of particular interest to a multidisciplinary academic audience in political science, philosophy, and law, however the book is written in clear jargon-free prose that is intended to render the arguments accessible to the non-specialist reader interested in global justice, human rights and international criminal law.