The ‘Gänseliesel’ (Goose Girlis), a historical fountain erected in 1901, represents the most well-known landmark of the city of Goettingen.
 

Modes of International Criminal Justice and General Principles of Criminal Responsibility

Hiromi Sato

 

Abstract

International criminal justice now functions via two systems – a direct one led by the international tribunals and an indirect one driven by national courts. The difference between the two systems inevitably brings about further differentiation with respect to the substantive aspect of these laws. It is especially noteworthy that the indirect system has not been equipped with customary international rules on several topics relating to general principles of criminal responsibility, so it relies heavily on the national laws of States that prosecute serious international crimes. Meanwhile, customary international law applying irrespective of judicial forums has more or less been developed with regard to other topics of general principles of criminal responsibility. Thus, two types of customary international law would be observed in this field – the one peculiar to international proceedings and the other applying to both international and national proceedings. It should also be noted that the law of the International Criminal Court sometimes differs from either type of customary international law, which has partially been caused by the difference between the normative characteristics of conventional and customary laws.

 

Download the full text as a PDF

Download