Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland Galway
Introduction to International Criminal Law
LW520 - SEMESTER 1
- Course Outline 2015-2016 Objective
Lecturer(s)
Lecture Times
The course introduces postgraduate students to the subject of
international criminal law. During the course, students will explore the
history and development of international criminal law, the established
crimes under international law, the mechanisms of international criminal
justice and general principles of international criminal law.
Name
Office
Ext
E-mail
Dr. Shane
Darcy
Room 206
Office Hours:
Monday 2.30 3.30pm
3947
shane.darcy@nuigalway.ie
Day
Time
Venue
Tuesdays
10am-1pm
Seminar room, Irish
Centre for Human Rights
On successful completion of this course, you will:
Overall
Learning
Outcomes
Format
Programme(s)
Course Material
 have knowledge and understanding of the rules, principles and
machinery of international criminal justice
 be familiar with the sources of international criminal law in treaty and
customary law
 have a general understanding of the applicable concepts of criminal
law and the principles established in the major cases of the
international tribunals
 be able to carry out effective research in the field of international
criminal law and be familiar with the major literature and policy
documents and emerging legal instruments
The course will be taught by weekly seminars, each three hours, over
twelve weeks. Students are expected to have read all prescribed
readings in advance of each seminar, thus requiring independent study
of 8-10 hours each week, and will be expected to engage actively in
discussion and to participate in various hands on exercises and
activities.
LL.M in International Criminal Law, full-time and part-time.
Syllabus will be available on the website of the Irish Centre for Human
Rights (www.nuigalway.ie/human_rights) and can be downloaded from
Blackboard at http://blackboard.nuigalway.ie.
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Texts
Required:
 Robert Cryer, Hakan Friman, Darryl Robinson and Elizabeth
Wilmshurst, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and
Procedure, 3rd edn., Cambridge University Press, 2014.
 Cases and Materials on International Criminal Law, Galway:
Irish Centre for Human Rights, 2010, available on Blackboard.
Additional:
 William A. Schabas, Introduction to the International Criminal
Court, 4th edn., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
 Antonio Cassese & Paola Gaeta, Cassese’s International Criminal
Law, 3rd edn., Oxford University Press, 2013.
 Alexander Zahar and Göran Sluiter, International Criminal Law,
Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
 William A. Schabas and Nadia Bernaz, Routledge Handbook of
International Criminal Law, Routledge, 2011.
 William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals; for the
former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Resources
Blackboard
Course syllabus and certain materials will be posted at
http://blackboard.nuigalway.ie. Books are available in the library and
most other materials are available online.
Journals
International Journal of Criminal Justice, Criminal Law Forum,
International Criminal Law Review, Yearbook of International
Humanitarian Law, Journal of Conflict and Security Law etc.
Websites
Website of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia: www.icty.org
Website of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda: www.ictr.org
Website of the International Criminal Court: www.icc-cpi.int
Website of the Special Court for Sierra Leone: www.sc-sl.org
Website of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon: www.stl-tsl.org
Website of the Extraordinary Chambers in the courts of Cambodia:
www.eccc.gov.kh
Oxford
Reports
on
International
Criminal
Law:
www.oxfordlawreports.com
Oxford Scholarship Online: www.oxfordscholarship.com
Assessment
Evaluation is undertaken through the submission of an essay
(maximum 10,000 words including footnotes) which should
demonstrate significant research, familiarity with the literature,
independent thought and critical analysis. Essays are to be submitted
in hardcopy and electronically via Blackboard. Class participation may
be taken into account for up to 10% of the mark and may be combined
with the essay mark to achieve the final conditional mark. Submission
Shane Darcy | Introduction to International Criminal Law | LW520
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date is set out in the general ‘Guidelines for LLM students’.
Workload
hours
Credit weighting:
Lecture hours:
Associated hours:
Independent study:
Total Student Effort:
15 ECTS
36
24
290
350 hours
Topics
Week 1: Introduction (September 15th)
Required Reading:
 Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapters
1 & 2.
 William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals, Chapter 3.
 Principles of International Law Recognised by the Charter of the Nuremberg
Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, U.N. Doc. A/1316 (1950), Cases
and Materials, p. 53.
 Marlise Simmons, ‘Hague Judge Faults Acquittal of Serb and Croat Commanders’,
New York Times, 14 June 2013.
 Owen Bowcott, ‘Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir leaves South Africa as court
considers arrest’, The Guardian, 15 June 2015.
*** Film Screening ***
‘Judgment at Nuremberg’, Monday 21st September, 5.15pm, ICHR Seminar room
Week 2: History of International Prosecution (September 22nd)
Required Reading:
 Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure,
Chapter 6.
 ‘Historical documents’, Cases and Materials, pp. 1-48.
 Nuremberg judgment, France et al. v. Goering et al., Cases and Materials, pp.
85-106.
 William A. Schabas and Nadia Bernaz, Routledge Handbook of International
Criminal Law, Chapter 1 ‘Trial at Nuremberg’ (Guénaël Mettraux) and Chapter
2 ‘The Tokyo Trial’ (Neil Boister).
 United States v. Ohlendorf, Cases and Materials, pp. 160-179.
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Week 3: International, ‘internationalised’ and national tribunals and the
enforcement of international criminal law (September 29th)
Required Reading:
 Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapters
7, 8 & 9.
 William A. Schabas, Introduction to the International Criminal Court, Chapters 1
and 2.
 Prosecutor v. Tadic, Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, 1995, Cases and
Materials, pp. 208-225.
 Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Cases and
Materials, pp. 54-60.
 Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Cases and Materials, pp.
61.
 Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Cases and Materials, pp. 62-66.
 Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Cases and Materials, pp. 67-72.
 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Cases and Materials, pp. 73-84.
*** Film Screening ***
‘A Good Man in Hell’, Monday 5th October, 5.15pm, ICHR Seminar room
Week 4: Genocide (October 6th)
Required Reading:
 Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter
10.
 William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals, Chapter 6.
 Alexander Zahar & Göran Sluiter, International Criminal Law, Chapter 5.
 Bashir Arrest Warrant decision, Cases and Materials, pp. 355-373.
 Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, Cases and Materials, pp. 506-512.
 Genocide Convention, Cases and Materials, pp. 49-50.
 Article 6, Elements of Crimes, Cases and Materials, pp. 51-52.
*** Film Screening ***
‘The Killing Fields’, Monday 12th October, 5.15pm, ICHR Seminar room
Week 6: Crimes Against Humanity (October 13th)
Required Reading:
 Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter
11.
 William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals, Chapter 7.
 ICC, Authorisation to Open an Investigation in the Situation in Kenya, 31
March 2010, paragraphs 77-99; Dissenting Opinion of Judge Kaul,
paragraphs 21-70.
 Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Cases and Materials, pp. 349-354.
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 Prosecutor v. Kordić & Čerkez, Cases and Materials, pp. 230-233.
 Comparison of definitions of crimes against humanity, Cases and Materials, pp.
521-525.
*** Film Screening ***
‘Katyn’, Monday 19th October, 5.15pm, ICHR Seminar room
Week 7: War Crimes (October 20th)
Required Reading:
 Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter
12.
 Shane Darcy, Judges, Law & War; the Judicial Development of International
Humanitarian Law, Cambridge, 2013, pp. 265-292.
 William A. Schabas, The UN International Criminal Tribunals, Chapter 8, pp. 226249.
 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 8.
 Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Articles 2-3.
 Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Article 4.
 Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Articles 3-4.
Week 8: Aggression (October 27th)
Required Reading:
 Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter
13.
 William A. Schabas and Nadia Bernaz, Routledge Handbook of International
Criminal Law, Chapter 10 ‘Aggression’ (Nicolas Strapatsas).
 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Articles 5, 8bis, 15bis, 15ter, 25.
 Review Conference Resolution on the Crime of Aggression, Cases and Materials,
pp. 536-538.
 Mary Ellen O’Connell and Mirakmal Niyazmatov, ‘What is Aggression? Comparing
the Jus Ad Bellum and the ICC Statute’, Journal of International Criminal Justice 10
(2012) 189-207.
Week 9: Jurisdiction and Admissibility (November 3rd)
Required Readings:
 William A. Schabas, Introduction to the International Criminal Court, Chapters 3
(pp. 62-87), 4 and 5.
 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Articles 11-20
 Statement of the Office of the Prosecutor on Iraq, Cases and Materials, pp. 513517.
 Decision on the request of the Union of Comoros to review the Prosecutor’s
decision not to initiate an investigate, Pre-Trial Chamber I, Situation on the
Registered Vessels of the Union of the Comoros, the Hellenic Republic and the
Kingdom of Cambodia, 16 July 2015, ICC-01/13. Available at: http://www.icccpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc2015869.pdf
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Week 10: Modes of Criminal Liability (November 10th)
Required Readings:
 Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapter
15.
 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Articles 25 & 28.
 Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Article 7.
 Prosecutor v. Tadic, Appeals Chamber Judgment, 15 July 1999, paras 178-237.
 Prosecutor v. Lubanga, ICC-01/04-01/06, Trial Chamber, Judgment, 14 March
2012, paragraphs 917-1018.
 Prosecutor v. Perišić, Case No. IT-04-81-A, Appeals Chamber, Judgment, 28
February 2013, paragraphs 26-36.
 Prosecutor v. Bemba Gombo, Case No. ICC-01/05/-01/08, Decision Pursuant to
Article 61(7)(a) and (b) of the Rome Statute on the Charges, Pre-Trial Chamber II,
15 June 2009, paragraphs 404-443.
Week 11: Defences and Immunities (November 17th)
Required Reading:
 Cryer et. al., An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, Chapters
16 & 21.
 Paola Gaeta, ‘Does President Al Bashir Enjoy Immunity from Arrest?’, 7(2) Journal
of International Criminal Justice (2009) 315.
 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Articles 31-33.
 Case Concerning Arrest Warrant (Yerodia case), Cases and Materials, pp. 226-229.
 Prosecutor v. Erdemovic, Cases and Materials, pp. 292-348.
Week 12: Reading Week (November 24th)
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