International Criminal Law: Principles, Crimes, Responsibility and Justice

"International Criminal Law" represents one of the most significant developments in the history of international law. It embodies the profound idea that certain acts are so grave that they concern not merely individual States but the international community as a whole, and that those who commit such acts may be held personally responsible, irrespective of their official position or political power. Its central purpose is to ensure that the most serious crimes do not remain beyond the reach of law.The experiences of war, genocide, mass persecution, colonial violence, forced displacement, and systematic attacks upon civilian populations have shaped the development of International Criminal Law. From the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials to the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and ultimately the International Criminal Court, the international legal order has progressively moved from the principle of impunity towards the principle of individual accountability.