Crimes Against Humanity - The Need for a New Treaty and Its Relationship to the International Criminal Court

Abstract

This research sets out the current framework for the repression of crimes against humanity in order to examine the gap that exists in international law. In 1998 crimes against humanity were finally codified and defined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is a great improvement in terms of universally defining crimes against humanity. However, as the International Criminal Court is a court of last resort with limited resources, and only few states have national legislation on crimes against humanity or extradition, most perpetrators remain unpunished. In light of the research it is suggested that the treaty proposed by the International Law Commission on crimes against humanity should be adopted. The treaty would fill the gap in international law in terms of providing for a universal definition on crimes against humanity, imposing an obligation to prosecute or extradite, addressing the means for legal assistance between states and suggesting national legislation. The proposed treaty would establish a missing horizontal relationship between states alongside the vertical relationship that already exists between states and the International Criminal Court. Therefore, by complementing the Rome Statute mechanism the proposed treaty on crimes against humanity and the Rome Statute form a comprehensive system in the fight against impunity for those guilty of violating international criminal law and crimes against humanity.