Annexure CD 01

Course Title: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW AND

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Course Code: LAW 534
Credit Units: 03

L T

P/
S

SW/
FW

TOTAL
CREDIT
UNITS
3

Course Objectives:
1.The course aims to provide student exposure to fundamentals of international
criminal law and policy.
2.The course educates students about the history and evolution of international
law.
3.The substantive provisions and difficulties in implementation of law should be
taught extensively.
Pre-requisites:
Knowledge of basics of international law, human rights law and humanitarian
law.
Student Learning Outcome
1.Understand the historical development of International Criminal Law
2.Understand structure and theoretical assumptions of the core international
crimes, as well as important modes of participations, such as command
responsibility

3.Understand the concept of individual criminal responsibility for international

crimes
4.Recognise the relationship between national and international jurisdiction for
the prosecution of international crimes
5.Comprehend the basic working of the permanent International Criminal Court.
Course Contents/Syllabus:
Weightage (%)
MODULE I INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW: BASICS AND HISTORY
Understanding International Criminal Law
o Source and Purpose
o State Sovereignty and International Criminal Law
o Nuremberg & Tokyo Trials
Tribunals:
o Ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal
--Former Yugoslavia
-- Rwanda
o Hybrid Tribunals
--Iraqi Special Tribunal
--Special Court for Sierra Leone
--Extraordinary Court for Cambodia
General Principles of International Criminal Law
MODULE II: EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Establishment, Composition and Administration of the International Criminal Court
Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Applicable Law
Individual Responsibility for International Crimes
MODULE III: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW: SUBSTANTIVE ASPECT
Core Crimes
o The crime of genocide and Genocide Convention, 1948

20

20

30

o Crimes against humanity

o War crimes
o The crime of Aggression
Emerging Crime
o Cross border terrorism
o Corruption and money laundering
o Torture
o Piracy
o Weapon Trafficking
o Sexual Trafficking
o Cyber Child Pornography
International consensus and divergence on core and emerging crimes.

MODULE IV: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW: PROCEDURAL ASPECT

Procedure followed at ICC: Investigation, Prosecution and Trial
Universal jurisdiction, Extradition and Immunities
International Cooperation, Judicial assistance and Enforcement
Victim Participation at ICC
MODULE V: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAWS BROADER CONTEXT
International Criminal Court and India
International Criminal Court and USA
Future of International Criminal Law

20

10

Pedagogy for Course Delivery:

The class will be taught using statues, doctrines and case based studies. There shall be an added emphasis to cover the current affairs in
relation to international law through newspaper reading assignments and presentations of the same.

Assessment/ Examination Scheme:

Theory L/T (%)

Lab/Practical/Studio (%)

End Term Examination

30%
70%
Theory Assessment (L&T):
Continuous Assessment/Internal Assessment
Components
(Drop down)
Weightage (%)

End Term
Examination

Project and
viva

Class Test

Internship

Attendance

10%

10%

5%

5%

Lab/ Practical/ Studio Assessment:

70%

NA

Continuous Assessment/Internal Assessment

Components
(Drop down
Weightage (%)
Suggested Readings:
PRIMARY SOURCES:
1. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948
2. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 1998.
SECONDARY SOURCES:
Books:
1. Cassese, Antonio, International Criminal Law (Oxford University Press, London, 2008) ed.2nd

End Term
Examination

2. Schabas, William A., An Introduction to the International Criminal Court,

(Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001)

Articles
1.
2.
3.
4.

Beth VanSchaack and Ron Slye, Defining International Criminal Law, available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1006089.
Arsanjani, Mahnoush H. , The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court American Journal of International Law, vol. 93, n.1 (1999)
Askin Kelly, Crimes Within the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court Criminal Law Forum, vol.10, n.1 (1999), pp. 33-59.
Helen Duffy, National Constitutional Compatibility and the International Criminal Court, Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law, vol.11,
n.5 (2001), pp. 6-38.
5. Kenneth Anderson, The Rise of International Criminal Law: Intended and Unintended Consequences, 20 EJIL 331-358 (2009), available at:
http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=facsch_lawrev.