Face-to-face , first term, 30 hours of theory.

First term
Wednesday from 17:30 to 20:30 at 119 Marais 3200

French

The course aims to develop students' knowledge and understanding of criminal humanitarian law. It also sets out to engage students in critical discussion on a range of international criminal justice issues. As part of the learning process, the course therefore encourages active student participation.

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Humanitarian law was for a long time synonymous with the law of armed conflict. It has over time considerably expanded its domain of application outside of this area. It is designed to fight against crimes of aggression, war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. It falls within the domain of international criminal law. In addition, humanitarian law includes numerous laws from international treaty and customary law, whose violation does not lead to prosecution. It also stresses the importance of prevention, which supposes, in particular, the wide diffusion of the rules governing: the pursuit of military operations, the recourse to the methods and means of combat, and the protection of the people who are not or who are no longer participating in hostilities. The rules in this area are different depending on whether the conflict is an international armed conflict or an internal one. Moreover, humanitarian law stresses the importance of the victims, and also promotes the re-establishment of peace.

After reviewing the principal stages of the history of criminal humanitarian law and the establishment of international criminal courts (of Nuremberg at the International Criminal Court, of ad hoc and mixed courts), we consider the duty of States to apprehend and judge the authors of international crimes. We then examine what constitutes evidence of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, as well the conditions for individual criminal responsibility and the idea of the responsibility of the superior. Several cases will be presented to illustrate these. We also examine the rules governing criminal prosecutions and the judgment before the International Criminal Court. Among the applicable international instruments we will take an in-depth look at the provisions of the Statute of Rome.

The course, which is taught in French, runs in the second term and involves 30 hours of class time. It is taught, not only in lecture format, but also on the basis of a more participative teaching method (analysis of case law, application of the law to real situations, presentation/debates, etc.) allowing the student to engage in critical inquiry through group discussion on various problems related to criminal humanitarian law.

Assessment involves a written examination of two hours comprising four questions. The three first (10 points out of 20) test students' knowledge of the subject. The fourth (10 points out of 20) is a more open question and draws on material studied in the class lectures.

International Humanitarian Law Code.
On sale at the "Syllabus Service".

Below is a list of further reading for those who wish to take a closer look at a particular question:

- H. ASCENSIO, E. DECAUX, A. PELLET, Droit international pénal, Paris, Pedone, 2000
- B. BABAN, La mise en cause de la responsabilité pénale du chef d'Etat, Bruxelles, Larcier, 2012
- M. C. BASSIOUNI, Crimes Against Humanity, Historical Evolution and Contemporary Application, Cambridge University Press, 2011
- E. BENVENISTI, The international law of occupation, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012
- A. BIAD (sous la dir. de), Le droit international humanitaire face aux défis du XXIème siècle, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2012
- H.-D. BOSLY, D. VANDERMEERSCH, Génocide, crimes contre l'humanité et crimes de guerre face à la justice  : les juridictions internationales et les tribunaux nationaux, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2010
- O. CORTEN, Le droit contre la guerre. L'interdiction du recours à la force en droit international contemporain, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2008
- S. D'ASCOLI, Sentencing in International Criminal Law, Hart Publishing, 2011
- E. DAVID, Principes de droit des conflits armés, 5è éd., Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2012
- O. DE FROUVILLE, Droit international pénal. Sources, incriminations, responsabilité, Pedone, 2012
- F. DELOOZ, S. KOLANOWSKI, "Introduction au droit international humanitaire", in Actualité du droit international humanitaire. Dossier n°6 de la Revue de droit pénal et de criminologie, Bruxelles, La Charte, 2001, pp. 5-26
- Y. DINSTEIN, War, Aggression and Self-Defence, Cambridge University Press, 2011
- K. DORMANN, L. DOSWALD-BECK, R. KOLB, Elements of War Crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Sources and Commentary, Cambridge, University Press, 2003
- J. FERNANDEZ, La politique juridique extérieure des Etats-Unis à l'égard de la Cour pénale internationale, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2010
- L. GREEN, The Contemporary Law of Armed Conflict, 3me éd., New York, Juris Publishnig, Inc. Huntington, 2008
- J.-M. HENCKAERTS, L. DOSWALD-BECK, Droit international humanitaire coutumier, volume I : Règles, Genève, C. I. C. R., Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2006
- M. KAMTO, L'agression en droit international, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2010
- R. KOLB, Ius in bello. Le droit international des conflits armés, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2003
- R. KOLB, Droit international pénal : précis, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2008
- A.M. LA ROSA., Dictionnaire de droit international pénal, Paris, P. U. F., 1998
- P. LEGROS, M. LIBERT, L'exigence humanitaire. Le devoir d'ingérence, Paris, éd. LPM, 2000
- A.C. MARTINEAU, Les juridictions pénales internationalisées. Un nouveau modèle de justice hybride ?, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2007
- M. MAYSTRE, Les enfants soldats en droit international, Paris, Pedone, 2010
- P. MUYAMBI DHENA, Droit d'ingérence humanitaire et normes internationales impératives : essai sur les crimes de guerre, crimes contre l'humanité et crime de génocide, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2012
- A.-S. MILLET-DEVALLE, L'Union européenne et le droit international humanitaire, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2010
- L. MOREILLON, A. BICHOVSKY, M. MASSROUI, Droit pénal humanitaire, 2e éd., B‚le, Helbing&Lichtenhahn, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2009
- A. OXFORD, International authority and the responsibility to protect, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011
- E. PLENET, Vers la création d'une prison internationale. L'exécution des peines prononcées par les juridictions pénales internationales, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2010
- D. SCALIA, Du principe de légalité des peines en droit international pénal, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2011
- G. SCHAMPS, "L'incrimination du crime de génocide, du crime contre l'humanité et des crimes de guerre en droit belge à la lumière du droit international humanitaire", Actualités de droit pénal et de procédure pénale, Commission Université-Palais, Bruxelles, Larcier, 2004, pp. 329-401
- G.D. SOLIS, The Law of Armed Conflict, Cambridge University Press, 2010
- C. SOMMARUGA, "Le droit international humanitaire au seuil du 3e millénaire", Revue Internationale de la Croix-Rouge, 1999, pp. 903-924
- J.-M. SOREL, C.-L. POPESCU (sous la dir. De), La protection des personnes vulnérables en temps de conflit armé, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2010
- P. TAVERNIER, J.-M. HENCKAERTS, Droit international humanitaire coutumier : enjeux et défis contemporains, coll. CREDHO, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2008
- R. VAN STEENBERGHE, La légitime défense en droit international public, Bruxelles, Larcier, 2012
- J. VERHAEGEN, Le droit international pénal de Nuremberg. Acquis et régressions, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2003

Some useful links:

The International Court of Justice (CIJ) http://www.icj-cij.org/ documents all the contentious and advisory opinion cases referred to the Court since 1946.

The United Nations Charter
http://www.icj-cij.org/documents/index.php?p1=4&p2=1&p3=0
Statute of the International Court of Justice
http://www.icj-cij.org/documents/index.php?p1=4&p2=2&p3=0
List of cases referred to the Court since 1946
http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=2
Pending cases
http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=1

The Permanent Court of International Justice (1922-1946)
http://www.icj-cij.org/pcij/index.php?p1=9
Provides access to documents under the different series (A to F) for the 1922-1946 period.

The International Criminal Court (CPI) http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Home
Statute of the Court (Rome Statute 17/07/1998)
http://www.icccpi.int/menus/icc/legal%20texts%20and%20tools/official%20journal/rome%20statute
Official Journal of the International Criminal Court
http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/ICC/Legal+Texts+and+Tools/Official+Journal/

Legal Tools
http://www.legal-tools.org/fr/les-outils-juridiques-de-la-cpi-en-bref/

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
http://www.icty.org/
Statute of the Tribunal http://www.icty.org/sid/135
The section "legal documentation"
Contains the main legal documents that set down the framework for the work of the ICTY. It also provides access to to databases and to key reports of the Tribunal : http://www.icty.org/sections/Documentationjuridique
ICTY database : http://icr.icty.org/fr/

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
http://www.unictr.org/Default.aspx
ICTR Database : Key documents and case law
http://www.unictr.org/Default.aspx
Numerous documents can be consulted in the sections "Cases" and "Legal"

Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL)
http://www.sc-sl.org
Numerous documents can be consulted in the sections "Documents" and "Cases"

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)
http://www.itlos.org/index.php?id=2&L=1
Numerous documents can be consulted in the sections :'Basic Texts', 'Cases' and "Press & Media : Press Releases"

Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
http://www.eccc.gov.kh/fr

Special Tribunal for Lebanon
http://www.stl-tsl.org/fr/


International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRR) http://www.icrc.org/fre/index.jsp
ICCR databases on international humanitarian law. The following tool includes some one hundred treaties and international legal texts relating to international humanitarian law dating from 1856 to the modern era: http://www.cicr.org/dih  

Databases: The national implementation of international humanitarian law
This database contains texts and commentaries related to the national level implementation of international humanitarian law. The number of countries covered is progressively increasing. Content is based on information held by the ICCR's Advisory service on international humanitarian law. Rather than providing a systematically comprehensive picture of situations in all countries it offers an oversight, as well as insights regarding the different aspects and possibilities for in respect of national implementation. Texts are in English (with the exception of original versions of official texts in Spanish or in French). http://www.icrc.org/ihl-nat
Databases on customary IHL
http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/home


Free resources :

Collegium (from n∞ 21/2001)
http://www.coleurop.be/template.asp?pagename=pub_collegium&language=fr&switchlang=yes
War crimes, genocide and crimes against Humanity (from Vol. 1/2005)
http://www.war-crimes.org/
International Review of the Red Cross (on line since 2004)
http://www.icrc.org/fre/resources/international-review/index.jsp

The PowerPoint slides projected during the course, as well as other useful documents (case law, articles of doctrines, etc.) can be downloaded from the Internet.