THE INSTITUTION OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY IN INTERNATIONAL LAW
THE INSTITUTION OF CRIMINAL LIABILITY IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

Summary/Abstract: The reality of war has changed considerably over time. While most, if not all, armed conflicts were once fought between states, many are now fought within states. Especially since the end of the Cold War, the world has witnessed the outbreak of non-international armed conflicts, often of an ethnic nature. Because the laws of war are still largely based on the concept of classical international armed conflict, it has proven difficult to fit this law into "modern" war crimes trials dealing with crimes committed during non-international armed conflicts. The criminal process therefore "updated" the laws of war. The international criminal judge aligned the realities of modern warfare with the purpose of the laws of war (preventing unnecessary suffering and enforcing "fair play"). International humanitarian law was further developed in war crimes law. This chapter discusses the transition from war crimes law to international criminal law, the concept of state responsibility for individual responsibility for international crimes, and the nature and sources of international criminal law. International responsibility requires compliance with international obligations expressed in the norms and principles of international law, which make up the international legal order. Through the prism of the quality of a complex legal entity, international liability guarantees the effectiveness of international law, fulfilling beyond the particularities of each form of liability, important functions in international law: international legality, guaranteeing the international legal order, establishing international relations, developing international relations.

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