The punishment of crimes against humanity : from theory to practice

Abstract

Individual's penal responsibility for international crimes was introduced in the international system during XXth century as a tool of reaction by the international community to very serious violations of fundamental values. After a historical excursus on the evolution of international penal right, the paper focuses its attention on crimes against humanity, category normatively defined by the Agreement for the institution of the Nurnberg Tribunal, aiming at avoiding that those crimes committed by German Nazis towards German citizens remained unpunished. Besides, the paper analyses the way the category has been further specified and defined by the ad hoc Courts for the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda, and by art. 7 of the Statute of the international Penal Court.