How far has the world come in creating a system of international criminal law? As global society grows ever more interdependent, international crime is increasingly regarded as a serious threat. Now is the time for the international community to produce more comprehensive solutions to prevent, punish & deter crimes under international law. In this book, the author focuses on recent developments in codification & implementation to evaluate prospects for the emergence of a unified system of international criminal law, characterized by broad & coherent material coverage, as well as fair & effective institutional implementation. To this end, he sketches the normative contours of international criminal law by exploring the history, content & legal status of the relevant norms against the background of the work of the International Law Commission. He then surveys patterns in existing means of implementation at both the inter-State & international levels, examining key issues relating to the acquisition of custody over the alleged offender, the role of the extradition system & the use of international criminal tribunals. Finally, the author identifies the essential properties for the emergence of a good system of international criminal law & locates the development & future prospects of this field within the main historical dynamics of international legal cooperation.

Professor Sadat's book is a valuable "restatement" of international criminal law, discovering and delineating the process that led the United Nations from Nuremberg to the Rome Statute of an International Criminal Court. "With the establishment of the International Criminal Court we enter an exciting era in the development of internatonal criminal law. This well written and thoroughly researched work provides a comprehensive and insightful analysis and critique of the Rome Statute and the impact of prosecuting war criminals" -- Justice Richard Goldstone Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

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.

The International Criminal Court is at a crossroads. In 1998, the Court was still a fiction. A decade later, it has become operational and faces its first challenges as a judicial institution. This volume examines this transition. It analyses the first jurisprudence and policies of the Court. It provides a systematic survey of the emerging law and practice in four main areas: the relationship of the Court to domestic jurisdictions, prosecutorial policy and practice, the treatment of the Court’s applicable law and the shaping of its procedure. It revisits major themes, such as jurisdiction, complementarity, cooperation, prosecutorial discretion, modes of liability, pre-trial, trial and appeals procedure and the treatment of victims and witnesses, as well as their criticisms. It also explores some of challenges and potential avenues for future reform.

This book is about the International Criminal Court (ICC), a new and highly distinctive criminal justice institution with the ability to prosecute the highest-level government officials, including heads of state, even in countries that have not accepted its jurisdiction. The book explores the historical development of international criminal law and the formal legal structure created by the Rome Statute, against the background of the Court’s search for objectivity in a political global environment. The book reviews the operations of the Court in practice and the Court’s position in the power politics of the international system. It discusses and clarifies all stages of an international criminal proceeding from the opening of the investigation to sentencing, reparations, and final appeals in the context of its restorative justice mission. Making appropriate comparisons and contrasts between the international criminal justice system and domestic and national systems, the book fills a gap in international criminal justice study.