Preface

• Pages: 5-9
• Author: Beth Van Schaack,Ronald C. Slye

v

PREFACE

International criminal law (ICL) can be, and is, taught in a

number of different ways depending on the text utilized and the

interests and expertise of the particular professor. For example, ICL

can be taught as a subset of public international law, with a n

emphasis on relevant treaties and customary international law,

international law-making, and the creation and operation of

institutions and organizations that adjudicate ICL. By contrast, ICL

can be taught as a specialized or upper division criminal law course,

with an emphasis on the elements of crimes, the burdens on the

prosecution and defense, and the parties’ strategic moves in the

adversarial or inquisitorial context. Given that many professors come

to the field with a domestic law background, the course can also be

taught as the transnational extension of domestic criminal law. This

perspective includes attention to issues of interstate cooperation in

law enforcement matters and extraterritorial and international

assertions of jurisdiction. In addition, ICL is often taught as part of

undergraduate courses in political science, human rights, or

international relations. It is hoped that this book will complement all

of these approaches.

To this end, in Part I of the book we provide chapters that

address the major institutions and international crimes with

reference to important features and open questions. We do not dwell

on doctrinal minutiae on the assumption that the cases highlighted

in the primary text will adopt this approach. Instead, we identify

broad themes undergirding the entire field, summarize the origins

and elements of the major international crimes, and identify

doctrinal areas that remain the subject of debate, litigation,

advocacy, and negotiation. We also present some of the jurisdictional

issues surrounding the major fora in which ICL norms are contested

and adjudicated: international tribunals, hybrid tribunals, and

domestic courts. In addition to these more standard to pics, we have

endeavored to expound upon themes that may only be treated briefly

in a two- or three-unit course on ICL. For example, we have included

chapters on the history of the field and the sources of ICL that are

more detailed than many primary texts provide. The latter chapter

will, we hope, be helpful to students who have not yet taken a general

course on international law. In addition, we have included a chapter

on a defense that is almost ubiquitous in ICL—nullum crimen sine

lege—that provides insights into ICL reasoning and rhetoric. In so

doing, we hope to convey some of the deep structural underpinnings

of the field, with all its uncertainties, inconsistencies, lacunae, and

idealism. Throughout the book, we move between macro and micro

perspectives to convey the full panoply of issues presented by this