Should Terrorism Be Added to ICC Jurisdiction? (original) (raw)

Abstract

On 17 July 1998, 120 states participated in a Rome conference to establish the International Criminal Court (ICC). After being ratified by 60 states, the ICC entered into force on 1 July 2002. This court has jurisdiction authority over the most serious crimes, including genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity (CAH) and aggression. Terrorism was one of the subjects discussed during this conference; however, terrorism was not eventually included within the ICC statutes. There was no doubt of the international importance and effects of terrorism; however, several states believed that terrorism should be managed by local criminal law. In contrast, other states believed that terrorist acts should be prosecuted in the ICC based on the war crimes or CAH statutes. This study argues that terrorism should be included in the ICC jurisdiction. First, this article claims that managing terrorism in a domestic court may not be accepted as a reasonable argument. Following this, the issues of state terrorism and the prosecuting difficulties related to this will be investigated. Second, given that not all terrorism acts can be considered war crimes or CAH, it is illogical for them to be considered in this way by the ICC. This study argues and demonstrates that inhumane acts such as hostage taking, arson and hijacking in particular circumstances, as well as property terrorism, may be not covered by existing ICC statutes. Third, this study presents the logical and legal arguments of including specific terrorism statutes in the ICC and argues that terrorism should be included in the ICC statutes. This section will discuss the ICC’s definition of terrorism, the ICC’s complementary role, the ICC as an independent organ, the authority of the ICC and terrorism as a separate crime.

Loading...

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

References (26)

  1. Abigail Fielding-Smith, 'Hezbollah man named over the Hariri murder', Middle East & North
  2. Africa, (29 July, 2011), Para. 1-7, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/76ad0ec2-b9ec-11e0- 8171- 3. 00144feabdc0.html#axzz2TQVJpxTl, accessed 5 May, 2013.
  3. Andrew Michael Colarik, Cyber terrorism: political and economic implications (Hershey: Idea group, 2011).
  4. Angela Hare, 'A NEW FORUM FOR THE PROSECUTION OF TERRORISTS: EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITY OF THE ADDITION OF TERRORISM TO THE ROME STATUTES'S JURISDICATION', Loyola University Chicago International Law Review, 8/1 (2011).
  5. Ben Saul, ' Definition of ''Terrorism'' in the UN Security Council:1985-2004', Oxford
  6. Charlotte Cross, 'First reporter at Lockerbie bombing scène dies at 82', Hold The Front Page, [webpage], (3 April, 2013), http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2013/news/first- reporter-at-lockerbie-bombing-scene-dies-at-82/, accessed 5 May, 2013.
  7. Christian Much, 'THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) AND TERRORISM AS AN INTERNATIONAL CRIME', Michigan State Journal of International Law, 14/121 (2006).
  8. D. A. Bellemare, 'BRINGING TERRORISTS BEFORE INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE: A VIEW FROM THE FRONT LINES', (Ottawa. 2011).
  9. Fiona McKay, 'U.S Unilateralism and International Crimes: The International Criminal Court and Terrorism', Cornell International Law Journal', 36 (2004).
  10. James Lutz and Brenda J Lutz, Terrorism the basics (Oxen: Routledge, 2011).
  11. Joby Warrick, 'Iran's Natanz nuclear facility recovered quickly from Stuxnet cyberattack', The Washington Post, (16 February. 2012), http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2011/02/15/AR2011021505395.ht ml, accessed 16 May. 2013.
  12. John D. van der Vyer, 'PROSECUTING TERRORISM IN INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNALS', Emory International Law Review, 24 (2010).
  13. Madeline Morris, 'Terrorism: The Politics of Prosecution', Chicago Journal of International Law, 5/2 (2005).
  14. Madeline Morris, 'The Democratic Dilemma of the International Criminal Court', BUFFALO CRIMINAL LAW REVIEW, 5:591 (2002).
  15. Maria Smith, 'The Rome Statute-A Missed opportunity', HARWARD INTERNATIONAL Review, (25 February. 2013),http://hir.harvard.edu/the-rome-statute-a-missed opportunity, accessed by 16 May.2013.
  16. Mark Ensalaco, Middle Eastern terrorism: from Black September to September 11 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 2008).
  17. Martin, 'Terrorism by the State', Terrorism, 45399 (2007).
  18. Neil Boister, 'TREATY CRIMES, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT?', New Criminal L aw Review, 12/3 (2009).
  19. Prosecutor V. Stansilav Galic (1999), IT-98-29.
  20. P.J Van Krieken, Terrorism and the International Legal Order (Hague: T.M.C, 2002).
  21. Richard J. Goldstone and Janine Simpson, 'Evaluating the Role of the International Criminal Court as a Legal Response to Terrorism', Harvard Human Rights Journal, 16 (2003).
  22. Robert Cryer ET el, AN INTRODUCTION TO International Criminal Law AND Procedure, (Newyork: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
  23. Sean Gallagher, 'North Korean military blamed for "wiper" cyber attacks against South Korea', ars technica, (11 April, 2013), http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/04/north-korean-military-blamed-for-wiper-cyber- attacks/, accessed 16 May. 2013.
  24. Surendran Koran, 'The International Criminal Court and Crimes of Aggression: Beyond the Kampala Convention', Houston Journal of International Law, [online journal], 34/2 (2012), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\_id=2085030, accessed 19 May. 2013.
  25. Tim Stephens, 'INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW AND THE RESPONSE TO INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM', UNSW Law journal, 27/2 (2004).
  26. United Nations, United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the, Establishment of an International Criminal Court, (Newyork: United Nations, 2002).