A practical guide to what motivates international crimes and how these are structured and investigated in theory and practice.

In the past twenty years, international criminal law has become one of the main areas of international legal scholarship and practice. Most textbooks in the field describe the evolution of international criminal tribunals, the elements of the core international crimes, the applicable modes of liability and defences, and the role of states in prosecuting international crimes. The Oxford Handbook of International Criminal Law, however, takes a theoretically informed and refreshingly critical look at the most controversial issues in international criminal law, challenging prevailing practices, orthodoxies, and received wisdoms. Some of the contributions to the Handbook come from scholars within the field, but many come from outside of international criminal law, or indeed from outside law itself. The chapters are grounded in history, geography, philosophy, and international relations. The result is a Handbook that expands the discipline and should fundamentally alter how international criminal law is understood.

The purpose of this book is to find a unified approach to the doctrine of mens rea in the sphere of international criminal law, based on an in-depth comparative analysis of different legal systems and the jurisprudence of international criminal tribunals since Nuremberg. Part I examines the concept of mens rea in common and continental legal systems, as well as its counterpart in Islamic Shari'a law. Part II looks at the jurisprudence of the post-Second World War trials, the work of the International Law Commission and the concept of genocidal intent in light of the travaux préparatoires of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Further chapters are devoted to a discussion of the boundaries of mens rea in the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The final chapter examines the definition of the mental element as provided for in Article 30 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court in light of the recent decisions delivered by the International Criminal Court. The study also examines the general principles that underlie the various approaches to the mental elements of crimes as well as the subjective element required in perpetration and participation in crimes and the interrelation between mistake of law and mistake of fact with the subjective element. With a Foreword by Professor William Schabas and an Epilogue by Professor Roger Clark From the Foreword by William Schabas Mohamed Elewa Badar has taken this complex landscape of mens rea at the international level and prepared a thorough, well-structured monograph. This book is destined to become an indispensable tool for lawyers and judges at the international tribunals. From the Epilogue by Professor Roger Clark This is the most comprehensive effort I have encountered pulling together across legal systems the 'general part' themes, especially about the 'mental element', found in confusing array in the common law, the civil law and Islamic law. In this endeavour, Dr Badar's researches have much to offer us.

Since after the Second World War, the crime of aggression is – along with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes – a “core crime” under international law. However, despite a formal recognition of aggression as a matter of international criminal law and the reinforcement of the international legal regulation of the use of force by States, numerous international armed conflicts occurred but no one was ever prosecuted for aggression since 1949. This book comprehensively analyses the historical development of the criminalisation of aggression, scrutinises in a detailed manner the relevant jurisprudence of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals as well as of the Nuremberg follow-up trials, and makes proposals for a more successful prosecution for aggression in the future. In identifying customary international law on the subject, the volume draws upon a wealth of applicable sources of national criminal law and puts forward a useful classification of States ́ legislative approaches towards the criminalisation of aggression at the national level. It also offers a detailed analysis of the current international legal regulation of the use of force and of the Rome Statute ́s substantive and procedural provisions pertaining to the exercise of the International Criminal Court ́s jurisdiction with respect to the crime of aggression, after 1 January 2017.

Principles of International Criminal Law is one of the leading textbooks in the field. This third edition builds on the highly-successful work of the previous editions, setting out the general principles governing international crimes as well as the fundamentals of both substantive and procedural international criminal law.

ÔInternational criminal justice indeed is a crowded field. But this edited collection stands well above the crowd. And it does so with dignity. Through interdisciplinary analysis, the editors skillfully turn shibboleths into intrigues. Theirs is a kaleidoscopic project that scales a gamut of issues: from courtroom discipline, to gender, to the defense, to history. Through vivid deployment of unconventional methods, this edited collection unsettles conventional wisdom. It thereby pushes law and policy toward heartier horizons.Õ Ð Mark A. Drumbl, Washington and Lee University, School of Law, US International criminal justice as a discipline throws up numerous conceptual issues, engaging disciplines such as law, politics, history, sociology and psychology, to name but a few. This book addresses themes around international criminal justice from a mixture of traditional and more radical perspectives. While law, and in particular international law, is at the heart of much of the discussion around this topic, history, sociology and politics are invariably infused and, in some aspects of international criminal justice, are predominant elements. Fundamentally the exploration concerns questions of coherence and legitimacy, which are foundational to both the content and application of the discipline, and the book charts an illuminating path through these diverse perspectives. The contributions in this book come from some of the eminent scholars and practitioners in the area, and will provide some profound insight into and an enriched understanding of international criminal justice, helping to advance the field of study. This ambitious and necessary book will appeal to academics and students of international criminal law, international criminal justice, international law, transitional justice and comparative criminal law, as well as practitioners of international criminal law.

Presents theories, practices and critiques alongside each other to engage students, scholars and professionals from multiple fields. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.