https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/78624 2026-04-19T01:34:29Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/79215 Title: Crimes against humanity : towards a more comprehensive approach? Authors: Grech, Omar Abstract: The 1st of July 2022 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the coming into force of the Rome Statute of the International Court. At the time of writing, in June 2021, Karim Khan is in the process of taking over as the third Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, following Luis Moreno Ocampo and Fatou Bensouda. As the Statute approaches its 20 years of coming into force and the third Chief Prosecutor in the Court’s history assumes his duties, it is an opportune time to reflect on one of the core crimes covered within the Statute. It is this context that the Centre for the Study and Practice of Conflict Resolution at the University of Malta undertook an initiative to reflect critically on one of the core crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction: Crimes Against Humanity (CAH). Thus, the Centre in collaboration with the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies and the Department of International Law at the same university, organised an academic seminar on the theme: Crimes Against Humanity: Towards A More Comprehensive Approach? The seminar brought together a number of scholars working in Malta, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the USA, all of whom share an interest in the evolution of CAH. This collection of essays stems from the seminar, which was held in April 2021. The purpose of this publication is twofold: to examine some of the ways in which CAH has developed over time; and to explore some future directions which CAH may follow. Essentially, this publication seeks to chart the course of CAH from inception to their current manifestation, while signposting some approaches in their understanding which may be pursued in the coming years 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/79214 Title: Preface [Crimes against humanity : towards a more comprehensive approach?] Abstract: The 1st of July 2022 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the coming into force of the Rome Statute of the International Court. At the time of writing, in June 2021, Karim Khan is in the process of taking over as the third Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, following Luis Moreno Ocampo and Fatou Bensouda. As the Statute approaches its 20 years of coming into force and the third Chief Prosecutor in the Court’s history assumes his duties, it is an opportune time to reflect on one of the core crimes covered within the Statute. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/79213 Title: Hersch Lauterpacht and early formulations of crimes against humanity Authors: Irvin-Erickson, Douglas Abstract: Crimes against humanity first emerged in international law in 1945, when the allied powers that won World War II—the United States, United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and France—granted the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg jurisdiction to prosecute German leaders for ‘crimes against peace,’ ‘war crimes,’ and ‘crimes against humanity.’ Since the Nuremberg trials, the concept of crimes against humanity has expanded dramatically, which other essays in this volume describe. Most notably, as highlighted in the next essay in this volume, international law has now affirmed that, unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity may be committed in times of formal peace. As William Schabas has put it, many colloquially view crimes against humanity as being analogous to serious violations of human rights, but ‘in the case of breaches of international human rights law, it is the state that is held responsible, whereas in the case of crimes against humanity, individuals are the perpetrators and they are the ones who are held criminally responsible.’ Thus, violations of human rights might trigger orders to cease certain actions or compensate victims, but violations of crimes against humanity can lead to the imprisonment of state officials, and even heads of state 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/79212 Title: The contextual elements in crimes against humanity : key developments from the Nuremberg Tribunal to the Rome Statute Authors: Grech, Omar Abstract: The purpose of this essay is to outline some of the key developments in the evolution of the definition of Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) from its first stipulation in the London Agreement of 1945 until its inclusion in the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC Statute) in June, 1998. In particular, the essay focuses on the evolution of the contextual elements of the crime in light of the jurisprudence of national and international tribunals as well as the definitions included in relevant international legal texts. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z