Neil Boister - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Neil Boister
Journal of International Criminal Justice, May 17, 2023
The criminalization of the unlawful use of force in international relations is not usually linked... more The criminalization of the unlawful use of force in international relations is not usually linked to conscription of an army to fight such a war. However, historical precedent in the Nuremberg and Tokyo International Military Tribunals established that conscription was part of the common plan to wage a war of aggression. After a brief history of conscription and its justifications, this article examines that precedent and then analyses how it could be put to use in a prosecution of the crime of aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Finally, it argues that there is a normative case for the inclusion of conscription within the scope of the crime of aggression because of the harm done to both the conscripts and the state and people of the place they invade.
International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 2005
Brill | Nijhoff eBooks, Mar 15, 2018
Policing the globe: criminalization and crime control in international relations (Oxford Universi... more Policing the globe: criminalization and crime control in international relations (Oxford University Press 2006); Ethan Avram Nadelmann, * My thanks to my co-editor Mikkel Christensen and the anonymous reviewer for their very useful comments.
Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Jun 1, 1998
Twenty-eight defendants were originally indicted but two (Matsuoka Yō suke and Fleet Admiral Naga... more Twenty-eight defendants were originally indicted but two (Matsuoka Yō suke and Fleet Admiral Nagano Osami) died during the proceedings and a third (Ō kawa Shū mei, a writer who was the only person indicted who had not held any civilian or military offi ce) was discharged because of mental incompetence.
The African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights in Context
Criminal Law Forum, Nov 3, 2010
for their very helpful insights on the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime. Versions o... more for their very helpful insights on the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime. Versions of this paper were presented to an International Law Association (
Journal of International Criminal Justice, Apr 28, 2010
On the road to the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal (IMT) theories of collective crimina... more On the road to the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal (IMT) theories of collective criminal responsibility for both aggression and all offences that are a consequence of that aggression were developed by US officials. While this project was largely frustrated at Nuremberg, it was more highly developed and more positively received at the Tokyo IMT. This development by the prosecution and reception in the Majority judgement at Tokyo is the principal focus of this article. The article examines three legal tools used to develop these theories: conspiracy as an inchoate crime against peace, conspiracy as a form of complicity in substantive crimes against peace, and the principle that aggression removes all justification for killing in wartime , which transforms those otherwise lawful killings into murder. The article questions whether these theories and the principles they depend on constitute the measure of the crime of aggression and suggests that they draw the limits of the crime far too broadly. In conspiracy we do not punish one man for another man's crime. We seek to punish each for his own crime of joining a common criminal plan in which others also participated.
Asian Journal of International Law, Oct 4, 2016
Indonesia has enacted laws which provide mandatory protection for victims of human trafficking. I... more Indonesia has enacted laws which provide mandatory protection for victims of human trafficking. It also has mandatory drug laws which, in some cases, lead to the death penalty. This legislative conflict together with investigative and prosecutorial failure risks the execution of human trafficked victims who are used as drug mules in organized crime. In countries where there is no statutory defence to criminal conduct, there is a need to approach criminal conduct in a way that protects victims. This includes mechanisms to ensure non-prosecution and non-punishment. The recent reprieve for Mary Jane Veloso, albeit temporary at the time of writing, is an opportunity for Indonesia to lead a new global approach to victim protection.
Criminal Law Forum, Sep 23, 2012
ABSTRACT
Human Rights Law Review, 2002
... other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; unlawful human experimentation; piracy;... more ... other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; unlawful human experimentation; piracy; aircraft hijacking ... opposition from the US, a key player in transnational criminal law enforcement, to the ... 3' Despite the fact that some states have included new human rights bars or ...
Oxford University Press eBooks, Aug 2, 2021
Neil Boister surveys the history of the crime suppression conventions from the beginning of the 1... more Neil Boister surveys the history of the crime suppression conventions from the beginning of the 19th century but with the main focus being on the inter-war period in the 20th century. He shows how the indirect system of application through national criminal law and sustained respect for what might be called penal sovereignty made it difficult for scholars of the day to incorporate these offences within a grand scheme of international criminal law.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2017
This chapter examines the distinguishing features of transnational criminal law. It begins by tra... more This chapter examines the distinguishing features of transnational criminal law. It begins by tracing the roots of transnational criminal law to the challenge raised by the growth of the perception that crimes that cross borders – transnational crimes – threaten state interests and have thus generated a global criminal justice power. It justifies applying this label and paying attention to this global criminal justice power by pointing out that it has been largely ignored by a legal academy preoccupied with the doctrinal development of international criminal law in a strict sense. After noting that the system is inherently plural and built around a preoccupation with transnational crime rather than any single point of legislative origin, it argues that transnational criminal law provides a lens to bring this activity into focus. It then proceeds to examine why states agree to suppress transnational crime and the importance of the role played by the so-called ‘transnational hook’. It points out that this hook is a relatively empty moral concept concerned only with state interest in regard to crime that may cross a border and affect that state. It examines the private nature of the crimes and the impact on domestic policy which lead to its dualistic international and domestic nature. It notes that rather than having an overall unified purpose these crimes reflect an incoherent set of purposes in regard to different activities and that in many cases these are the purposes of particular political communities. Finally, the chapter looks at why poor suppression of transnational crimes by states may make international criminal jurisdiction appear attractive, but points out that applying such a jurisdiction is difficult given the incoherent, particularist character of transnational criminal law.
Social Science Research Network, 2006
Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa, Mar 1, 1991
The main concern of this article on the law of war has been to trace its practical impact on the ... more The main concern of this article on the law of war has been to trace its practical impact on the conduct of hostilities and the fate of ANC combatants to internationalise the South African armed conflict. It is clear that international law has until recently had little real impact on the conduct of the conflict. The government has not found the political will to apply international law. The political disadvantages of recognising the legitimacy of its enemies' combatants have outweighed the humanitarian imperatives for the application of international law. Nevertheless, the international community's less ambitious goal of curtailing the execution of ANC members has to some extent been realised through the consideration of international developments on sentence by the South African criminal courts. In allowing this consideration, South Africa has begun to follow the practice of other states faced with similar conflicts.
Journal of International Criminal Justice, May 17, 2023
The criminalization of the unlawful use of force in international relations is not usually linked... more The criminalization of the unlawful use of force in international relations is not usually linked to conscription of an army to fight such a war. However, historical precedent in the Nuremberg and Tokyo International Military Tribunals established that conscription was part of the common plan to wage a war of aggression. After a brief history of conscription and its justifications, this article examines that precedent and then analyses how it could be put to use in a prosecution of the crime of aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Finally, it argues that there is a normative case for the inclusion of conscription within the scope of the crime of aggression because of the harm done to both the conscripts and the state and people of the place they invade.
International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 2005
Brill | Nijhoff eBooks, Mar 15, 2018
Policing the globe: criminalization and crime control in international relations (Oxford Universi... more Policing the globe: criminalization and crime control in international relations (Oxford University Press 2006); Ethan Avram Nadelmann, * My thanks to my co-editor Mikkel Christensen and the anonymous reviewer for their very useful comments.
Journal of Conflict and Security Law, Jun 1, 1998
Twenty-eight defendants were originally indicted but two (Matsuoka Yō suke and Fleet Admiral Naga... more Twenty-eight defendants were originally indicted but two (Matsuoka Yō suke and Fleet Admiral Nagano Osami) died during the proceedings and a third (Ō kawa Shū mei, a writer who was the only person indicted who had not held any civilian or military offi ce) was discharged because of mental incompetence.
The African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights in Context
Criminal Law Forum, Nov 3, 2010
for their very helpful insights on the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime. Versions o... more for their very helpful insights on the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime. Versions of this paper were presented to an International Law Association (
Journal of International Criminal Justice, Apr 28, 2010
On the road to the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal (IMT) theories of collective crimina... more On the road to the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal (IMT) theories of collective criminal responsibility for both aggression and all offences that are a consequence of that aggression were developed by US officials. While this project was largely frustrated at Nuremberg, it was more highly developed and more positively received at the Tokyo IMT. This development by the prosecution and reception in the Majority judgement at Tokyo is the principal focus of this article. The article examines three legal tools used to develop these theories: conspiracy as an inchoate crime against peace, conspiracy as a form of complicity in substantive crimes against peace, and the principle that aggression removes all justification for killing in wartime , which transforms those otherwise lawful killings into murder. The article questions whether these theories and the principles they depend on constitute the measure of the crime of aggression and suggests that they draw the limits of the crime far too broadly. In conspiracy we do not punish one man for another man's crime. We seek to punish each for his own crime of joining a common criminal plan in which others also participated.
Asian Journal of International Law, Oct 4, 2016
Indonesia has enacted laws which provide mandatory protection for victims of human trafficking. I... more Indonesia has enacted laws which provide mandatory protection for victims of human trafficking. It also has mandatory drug laws which, in some cases, lead to the death penalty. This legislative conflict together with investigative and prosecutorial failure risks the execution of human trafficked victims who are used as drug mules in organized crime. In countries where there is no statutory defence to criminal conduct, there is a need to approach criminal conduct in a way that protects victims. This includes mechanisms to ensure non-prosecution and non-punishment. The recent reprieve for Mary Jane Veloso, albeit temporary at the time of writing, is an opportunity for Indonesia to lead a new global approach to victim protection.
Criminal Law Forum, Sep 23, 2012
ABSTRACT
Human Rights Law Review, 2002
... other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; unlawful human experimentation; piracy;... more ... other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; unlawful human experimentation; piracy; aircraft hijacking ... opposition from the US, a key player in transnational criminal law enforcement, to the ... 3' Despite the fact that some states have included new human rights bars or ...
Oxford University Press eBooks, Aug 2, 2021
Neil Boister surveys the history of the crime suppression conventions from the beginning of the 1... more Neil Boister surveys the history of the crime suppression conventions from the beginning of the 19th century but with the main focus being on the inter-war period in the 20th century. He shows how the indirect system of application through national criminal law and sustained respect for what might be called penal sovereignty made it difficult for scholars of the day to incorporate these offences within a grand scheme of international criminal law.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2017
This chapter examines the distinguishing features of transnational criminal law. It begins by tra... more This chapter examines the distinguishing features of transnational criminal law. It begins by tracing the roots of transnational criminal law to the challenge raised by the growth of the perception that crimes that cross borders – transnational crimes – threaten state interests and have thus generated a global criminal justice power. It justifies applying this label and paying attention to this global criminal justice power by pointing out that it has been largely ignored by a legal academy preoccupied with the doctrinal development of international criminal law in a strict sense. After noting that the system is inherently plural and built around a preoccupation with transnational crime rather than any single point of legislative origin, it argues that transnational criminal law provides a lens to bring this activity into focus. It then proceeds to examine why states agree to suppress transnational crime and the importance of the role played by the so-called ‘transnational hook’. It points out that this hook is a relatively empty moral concept concerned only with state interest in regard to crime that may cross a border and affect that state. It examines the private nature of the crimes and the impact on domestic policy which lead to its dualistic international and domestic nature. It notes that rather than having an overall unified purpose these crimes reflect an incoherent set of purposes in regard to different activities and that in many cases these are the purposes of particular political communities. Finally, the chapter looks at why poor suppression of transnational crimes by states may make international criminal jurisdiction appear attractive, but points out that applying such a jurisdiction is difficult given the incoherent, particularist character of transnational criminal law.
Social Science Research Network, 2006
Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa, Mar 1, 1991
The main concern of this article on the law of war has been to trace its practical impact on the ... more The main concern of this article on the law of war has been to trace its practical impact on the conduct of hostilities and the fate of ANC combatants to internationalise the South African armed conflict. It is clear that international law has until recently had little real impact on the conduct of the conflict. The government has not found the political will to apply international law. The political disadvantages of recognising the legitimacy of its enemies' combatants have outweighed the humanitarian imperatives for the application of international law. Nevertheless, the international community's less ambitious goal of curtailing the execution of ANC members has to some extent been realised through the consideration of international developments on sentence by the South African criminal courts. In allowing this consideration, South Africa has begun to follow the practice of other states faced with similar conflicts.