This book investigates whether corporate criminal liability should be incorporated within the scope of international criminal law. The work provides unique insight into the evolution of the debate on the international criminal liability of corporations to facilitate future discussion on the possibility of including corporations within the scope of international criminal law. It combines a detailed examination of Nuremberg and Rome with the examination of previously overlooked initiatives such as the Draft Code of Offences against Peace and Security of Mankind and the 1951 and 1953 Committees on International Criminal Jurisdiction. This analysis is also complemented by a review of significant post-1998 international and domestic developments around corporate criminal liability. In addition, it offers suggestions for the development of an amendment to hold corporations accountable under the Statute of the International Criminal Court. This book contributes to the existing literature on the topic of corporate liability which attracts significant attention from scholars in the fields of Law, Business, and Political Science. It will be useful to professionals in the academic and diplomatic fields, researchers, legal advisors, and business leaders. It will also be of interest to anyone who wants to understand the debate on holding businesses accountable under international criminal law.

This book provides a comprehensive account of how non-state actors rely on international criminal law as a tool in the service of progressive political causes. The argument that international criminal law and its institutions serve as an instrument in the hands of a few powerful states, and that its practice is characterized by double standards and selectivity, has received considerable attention. This book, however, focuses on a practice that is informed by this argument. Its focus is on an alternative practice within international criminal law, where non-state actors navigate what critical scholars call a structurally biased legal system, in order to achieve long-term political objectives. Innovatively, the book combines the concerns expressed by Third World Approaches to International Law with strategic litigation that focuses on the accountability of corporations for their complicity in crimes under international law. Analysing this litigation, the book demonstrates that, while it is crucial to highlight the blind spots of the international criminal legal framework, it is also important to take into account the practice of non-state actors engaged in leveraging its emancipatory potential. This original analysis of the implementation and legitimacy of international criminal law will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and activists working in relevant areas of law, politics, criminology and international relations.