Roger S. Clark

A United Nations high commissioner for human rights

In my capacity as Rapporteur for Follow-up on Concl uding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CE DAW), I have the honour to refer to the examination of the third periodic report of Kyrgyzs tan at the Committee’s forty-second session, held in October-November 2008. At the end of that sessio n, the Committee’s concluding observations were transmitted to your Permanent Mission (CEDAW/C/KGZ/ CO/3). You may recall that in paragraph 50 of the concluding observations, the Committee reque sted Kyrgyzstan to provide, within one year, further information regarding the specific areas of c ncern identified by the Committee in paragraphs 20 and 22 of the concluding observations.

Rethinking Aggression as a Crime and Formulating Its Elements: The Final Work-Product of the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court

The crime of aggression will be included within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court once agreement is reached on its definition and the conditions for exercising jurisdiction. The author discusses the ultimately unsuccessful efforts of the now concluded Preparatory Commission for the Court to complete the drafting. He suggests how the mental and material elements of the offense might be structured consistently with other offenses in the Statute of the Court. Probably the biggest intellectual hurdle is that of “conditions.” A number of states, notably the Permanent Members of the Security Council, insist that there must be a predetermination of an act of aggression by a state made by the Security Council. Others believe that the predetermination can be made by the General Assembly or the International Court of Justice. Yet others claim that all decisions must be made by the International Criminal Court. The political choice between these positions has still to be made.

General Principles of International Criminal Law

International criminal law is the body of law that prohibits certain categories of conduct deemed to be serious crimes, regulates procedures governing investigation, prosecution and punishment of those categories of conduct, and holds perpetrators individually accountable for their commission. The repression of serious violations of international humanitarian law is essential for ensuring respect for this branch of law, particularly in view of the gravity of certain violations, qualified as war crimes, which it is in the interest of the international community as a whole to punish. There are several basic principles upon which international criminal law is based. Since international crimes increasingly include extraterritorial elements, requiring enhanced interaction between States, it is becoming more pressing to coordinate respect for these principles. States must uphold them while also respecting their own national principles of criminal law and any specific principles outlined in the instruments of the regional bodies to which they are party.

The Role of Justice and Fairness as Global Values: Promoting Public International Law at the (Pre-)University Level

The United Nations Charter and other international instruments promote justice and international law as cornerstones of peace and security, nationally and internationally. This chapter looks into the avenues and precepts of inculcating an appreciation for international law and international principles (for example those on crime prevention and criminal justice or human rights) through education at the university level and, especially, at the pre-university level. It discusses ways in which relevant learning takes place both in the regular curriculum and in such extra-curricular activities as Model United Nations Conferences, which involve both high school and university students. Various efforts by the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies to stimulate such education are noted, such as “United Nations Academic Impact Initiative”. So too is the dearth both of curricular requirements and of teaching materials suitable for teaching the subject at the pre-university level. Note is taken of a handful of excellent teaching aids that are available.

The crime of aggression and the International Criminal Court

In Article 5, paragraph 1 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the crime of aggression is listed as one of the four crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court. As to the procedural issues, Article 5 (2) is not a great example of the drafters art. What exactly must be done to bring the provision on aggression into force is hotly debated. This chapter discusses this issue briefly. Conceptualising the crime of aggression faces some fundamental political challenges, given the rather unclear and untested limits to, and interplay between, the roles, under the United Nations Charter, of the Security Council, and other United Nations organs, in maintaining international peace and security. The chapter provides some of those issues, which fit the rubric conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction. It considers some basic definitional issues, including the relevance of the General Assemblys 1974 Definition of Aggression. Keywords: crime of aggression; International Criminal Court; Rome Statute; Security Council; United Nations Charter

The Crime Of Aggression

The crime of aggression is the unfinished substantive business from Rome. There is a reasonable chance that it will be resolved at the First Review Conference. Article 5 (1) of the Rome Statute, lists the crime of aggression as one of the four crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court. Conceptualizing the crime of aggression faces some fundamental political challenges, given the rather unclear limits to, and interplay between, the roles under the United Nations Charter of the Security Council, and other United Nations organs, in maintaining international peace and security. This chapter discusses some of those issues, which have taken on a role as threshold problems, as conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction. It considers some basic definitional issues, including incorporating the General Assemblys 1974 Definition of Aggression and efforts to articulate the basic leadership nature of the crime. Keywords: crime of aggression; jurisdiction; Rome Statute; Security Council

The Case Concerning Oil Platforms (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America) – Preliminary Objection

The case-law of the International Court of Justice (Court) is replete with arguments about whether the Court has jurisdiction to entertain the particular dispute (or request for advisory opinion) with which the Court is faced. These arguments are framed at one level as matters of interpretation of the relevant instruments. But they typically play out as well a multiplicity of variations on the overlapping themes of sovereignty (the extent to which states have been prepared to concede decision-making to third-party settlement mechanisms) and justiciability (the extent to which they will accept that an issue may be governed by ‘law’ and thus be susceptible to resolution by judicial actors).

Human Rights and the U.N. Committee on Crime Prevention and Control

Numerous subsidiary organs of the General Assembly and of the Economic and Social Council have played a part in the human rights program of the United Nations. For the first thirty years or so of its life the organization concentrated primarily on the development of normative texts; more recent efforts have emphasized implementation. The United Nations Committee on Crime Prevention and Control has been expanding its role both in the creation of human rights standards in the broad criminal justice area and in endeavoring to implement those standards on the ground. On first exposure, the Committees main area of activity is a category of civil and political rights, namely, the protection of rights in the administration of justice. Further examination of its work in such areas as the prevention of juvenile delinquency or domestic violence suggests that its role encompasses various aspects of economic, social, and cultural rights as well. The author examines the work of the Committee with the particular aim of increasing its visibility.