Course overview
This course covers the substantive and procedural aspects of International Criminal Law (ICL) and the application of ICL nationally and internationally. Course participants will gain an understanding of the four categories of international crimes under the Rome Statue comprising war crimes, crimes against humanity, the crime of aggression and genocide. Course participants will also study the modes of liability specific to ICL, including command responsibility and the various forms of group commission. There will be an opportunity to consider the historical and institutional development of ICL through the case law of the Nuremburg and Tokyo tribunals, the ad-hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. In addition, there will be a focus on the domestic implementation and enforcement of ICL in Australia, including the application of ICL to members of the Australian Defence Force and Defence Civilians.
Course learning outcomes
- Describe the history and development of ICL, with particular reference to Australia's involvement
- Identify the elements of the core crimes recognised under ICL, with particular reference to war crimes, and be able to apply these to factual scenarios
- Articulate the modes of liability for collective crimes, with particular reference to command responsibility, and be able to apply these to factual scenarios
- Explain the domestic enactment and application of ICL in Australia, with particular reference to members of the Australian Defence Force and Defence Civilians
- Effectively construct legal argument and analysis of ICL issues, both orally and in writing
- Undertake self-directed high-level legal research of ICL, including through the use of online technologies, to critically analyse the nature of ICL as a system of criminal law.