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Full-Text Articles in Criminal Law

Rethinking Criminal Law Theory: New Canadian Perspectives In The Philosophy Of Domestic, Transnational, And International Criminal Law, François Tanguay-Renaud, James Stribopoulos Oct 2015

Rethinking Criminal Law Theory: New Canadian Perspectives In The Philosophy Of Domestic, Transnational, And International Criminal Law, François Tanguay-Renaud, James Stribopoulos

François Tanguay-Renaud

In the last two decades, the philosophy of criminal law has undergone a vibrant revival in Canada. The adoption of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has given the Supreme Court of Canada unprecedented latitude to engage with principles of legal, moral, and political philosophy when elaborating its criminal law jurisprudence. Canadian scholars have followed suit by paying increased attention to the philosophical foundations of domestic criminal law. Because of Canada's leadership in international criminal law, both at the level of the International Criminal Court and of specific war crimes tribunals, they have also begun to turn their attention to …


International Criminal Law: Cases And Materials, Jimmy Gurule, Jordan Paust, Bruce Zagaris, Leila Sadat, Michael Scharf, M. Cherif Bassiouni Jun 2015

International Criminal Law: Cases And Materials, Jimmy Gurule, Jordan Paust, Bruce Zagaris, Leila Sadat, Michael Scharf, M. Cherif Bassiouni

Jimmy Gurule

The fourth edition has been significantly updated, especially to reflect case trends in the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunals for Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda (encompassing, among other matters, individual responsibility, defenses, war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity). Some of the chapters have new sub-subtitles and relevant domestic cases have been added or noted in various chapters. There are also additions to the Documents Supplement.


What Are Transitions For? Atrocity, International Criminal Justice, And The Political, Paulo Barrozo Dec 2014

What Are Transitions For? Atrocity, International Criminal Justice, And The Political, Paulo Barrozo

Paulo Barrozo

This essay offers an answer to the question of what societies afflicted by atrocities ought to transition into. The answer offered is able to better direct the evaluation of previous models and the design of new models of transitional justice. Into what, then, should transitional justice transition? I argue in this essay that transitional justice should be a transition into the political, understood in its robust liberalism version. I further argue that the most significant part of transitions ought to happen in the minds of the members of political communities, precisely where the less tangible and yet most important dimension …


Is Jus In Bello In Crisis?, Jens Ohlin Dec 2014

Is Jus In Bello In Crisis?, Jens Ohlin

Jens David Ohlin

It is a truism that new technologies are remaking the tactical and legal landscape of armed conflict. While such statements are undoubtedly true, it is important to separate genuine trends from scholarly exaggeration. The following essay, an introduction to the Drone Wars symposium of the Journal, catalogues today’s most pressing disputes regarding international humanitarian law (IHL) and their consequences for criminal responsibility. These include: (i) the triggering and classification of armed conflicts with non-state actors; (ii) the relative scope of IHL and international human rights law in asymmetrical conflicts; (iii) the targeting of suspected terrorists under concept- or status-based classifications …


Attempt, Conspiracy, And Incitement To Commit Genocide, Jens Ohlin Dec 2014

Attempt, Conspiracy, And Incitement To Commit Genocide, Jens Ohlin

Jens David Ohlin

In these brief commentaries to the U.N. Genocide Convention, I explore three criminal law modes of liability as they apply to the international crime of genocide. Part I analyzes attempt to commit genocide and uncovers a basic tension over whether attempt refers to the genocide itself (the chapeau) or the underlying offense (such as killing). Part I concludes that the tension stems from the fact that the crime of genocide itself is already inchoate in nature, since the legal requirements for the crime do not require an actual, completed genocide, in the common-sense understanding of the term, but only a …


On The Very Idea Of Transitional Justice, Jens Ohlin Dec 2014

On The Very Idea Of Transitional Justice, Jens Ohlin

Jens David Ohlin

The phrase "transitional justice" has had an amazingly successful career at an early age. Popularized as an academic concept in the early 1990s in the aftermath of apartheid's collapse in South Africa, the phrase quickly gained traction in a variety of global contexts, including Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Cambodia, and Sierra Leone. A sizeable literature has been generated around it, so much so that one might even call it a sub-discipline with inter-disciplinary qualities. Nonetheless, the concept remains an enigma. It defines the contours of an entire field of intellectual inquiry, yet at the same time it hides more than it illuminates. …


The Curious Criminality Of Mass Atrocity: Diverse Actors, Multiple Truths, And Plural Responses, Mark Drumbl Oct 2014

The Curious Criminality Of Mass Atrocity: Diverse Actors, Multiple Truths, And Plural Responses, Mark Drumbl

Mark A. Drumbl

No abstract provided.


Por Um Law No Mundo: Fundamentos Jusfilosóficos Do Instituto Da Adoção Como Direito Humano, Paulo Barrozo Dec 2012

Por Um Law No Mundo: Fundamentos Jusfilosóficos Do Instituto Da Adoção Como Direito Humano, Paulo Barrozo

Paulo Barrozo

Este ensaio articula os fundamentos jusfilosóficos do direito humano e cosmopolita dos jovens privados de autêntica relação pais-filhos de serem adotados, tendo assim acesso à experiência de crescer como fihas ou filhos. Esta visão jusfilosófica da adoção como direito humano é contraposta à abordagem, até então predominante, consequencialista-filantrópica da adoção. Uma vez apresentados os fundamentos jusfilosóficos em questão, cinco principais distinções emergem entre a adoção como direito humano e a visão tradicional da adoção. Primeiro, a perspectiva da adoção como direito humano reconhece o fato de que negligência e abuso de jovens é proporcionalmente e em termos absolutos mais frequente …


“Germans Are The Lords And Poles Are The Servants”: The Trial Of Arthur Greiser In Poland, 1946, Mark Drumbl Dec 2012

“Germans Are The Lords And Poles Are The Servants”: The Trial Of Arthur Greiser In Poland, 1946, Mark Drumbl

Mark A. Drumbl

No abstract provided.


The Innocent Defendant’S Dilemma: An Innovative Empirical Study Of Plea Bargaining’S Innocence Problem, Lucian Dervan, Vanessa Edkins Dec 2012

The Innocent Defendant’S Dilemma: An Innovative Empirical Study Of Plea Bargaining’S Innocence Problem, Lucian Dervan, Vanessa Edkins

Lucian E Dervan

In 1989, Ada JoAnn Taylor was accused of murder and presented with stark options. If she pleaded guilty, she would be rewarded with a sentence of ten to forty years in prison. If, however, she proceeded to trial and was convicted, she would likely spend the rest of her life behind bars. Over a thousand miles away in Florida and more than twenty years later, a college student was accused of cheating and presented with her own incentives to admit wrongdoing and save the university the time and expense of proceeding before a disciplinary review board. Both women decided the …


Hearing On Stolen Or Counterfeit Goods Legislation, Lucian Dervan Dec 2011

Hearing On Stolen Or Counterfeit Goods Legislation, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

On March 28, 2012, Professor Dervan was called to testify before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security (Judiciary Committee, U.S. House of Representatives) and offer his thoughts regarding proposed counterfeit goods legislation (The Safe Doses Act (H.R. 4223) and the Counterfeit Drug Penalty Enhancement Act of 2011 (H.R. 3668)). In his prepared statement, Professor Dervan examines the phenomenon of overcriminalization, the collapse of mens rea, the true impact of increased statutory maximums, plea bargaining, and the continued deterioration of our constitutionally protected right to trial by jury. His closing remarks to the Committee offer a poignant critique of …


From Politics To Law, To Tedium, And Back, Mark Drumbl Dec 2011

From Politics To Law, To Tedium, And Back, Mark Drumbl

Mark A. Drumbl

No abstract provided.


Global Bribery: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Lucian Dervan Dec 2011

Global Bribery: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

Written for a European publication focusing on internal investigations, this piece seeks to introduce the reader to the fundamental elements of the American FCPA, including discussion of available defenses under the statute. Further, this piece discusses some of the collateral considerations that must be made during the investigation of an FCPA matter, particularly given the existence of overlapping anti-bribery provisions in various countries throughout the world and the likelihood of concurrent parallel proceedings both in the United States and abroad during the pendency of any international bribery matter. Finally, this piece offers some thoughts regarding FCPA compliance programs.


The Future Of International Criminal Law And Transitional Justice,, Mark Drumbl Dec 2011

The Future Of International Criminal Law And Transitional Justice,, Mark Drumbl

Mark A. Drumbl

No abstract provided.


Information Warfare And Civilian Populations: How The Law Of War Addresses A Fear Of The Unknown, Lucian Dervan Dec 2010

Information Warfare And Civilian Populations: How The Law Of War Addresses A Fear Of The Unknown, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

Imagine a civilian communications system is being temporarily relied upon by an opposing military force for vital operations. If one launches a computer network attack against the communications system, the operation may disable the opposing force’s ability to function adequately and, as a result, prompt their surrender. The alternative course of action is to launch a traditional kinetic weapons attack in the hopes of inflicting enough casualties on the troops to induce surrender. Given these options, the law of war would encourage the utilization of the computer network attack because it would result in less unnecessary suffering. But is the …


American Prison Culture In An International Context: An Examination Of Prisons In America, The Netherlands, And Israel, Lucian Dervan Dec 2010

American Prison Culture In An International Context: An Examination Of Prisons In America, The Netherlands, And Israel, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

In 2004, British authorities arrested Abu Hamza al-Masri, an Egyptian born cleric sought by the United States for his involvement in instigating terrorist attacks. As authorities prepared to extradite him in July 2010, the European Court of Human Rights issued a stay. According to the court, al-Masri’s claims that maximum-security prisons in the United States violate European human rights laws prohibiting torture and degrading treatment warranted further examination. Regardless of the eventual resolution of the al-Masri case, the European Court of Human Rights’ inability to summarily dismiss these assertions demonstrates something quite troubling. At a minimum, the court’s actions indicate …


The Surprising Lessons From Plea Bargaining In The Shadow Of Terror, Lucian Dervan Dec 2010

The Surprising Lessons From Plea Bargaining In The Shadow Of Terror, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

Since September 11, 2001, several hundred individuals have been convicted of terrorism related charges. Of these convictions, over 80% resulted from a plea of guilty. It is surprising and counterintuitive that such a large percentage of these cases are resolved in this manner, yet, even when prosecuting suspected terrorists caught attempting suicide attacks, the power of the plea bargaining machine exerts a striking influence. As a result, a close examination of these extraordinary cases offers important insights into the forces that drive the plea bargaining system. Utilizing these insights, this article critiques two divergent and dominant theories of plea bargaining …


Re-Evaluating Corporate Criminal Liability: The Doj's Internal Moral Culpability Standard For Corporate Criminal Liability, Lucian Dervan Dec 2010

Re-Evaluating Corporate Criminal Liability: The Doj's Internal Moral Culpability Standard For Corporate Criminal Liability, Lucian Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

This article examines the common law respondeat superior test for corporate criminal liability and proposes that it be expanded beyond the current two prong test to encompass a third prong regarding moral culpability. Further, this article supports this proposal by noting that the Department of Justice has already incorporated a moral culpability element into its analysis of corporate criminal liability through application of the Department’s Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations. While some might argue that one should be satisfied that the Department of Justice has seen fit to implement a new corporate criminal liability standard on its own …


Punishing Cruelly: Punishment, Cruelty, And Mercy, Paulo Barrozo Dec 2007

Punishing Cruelly: Punishment, Cruelty, And Mercy, Paulo Barrozo

Paulo Barrozo

What is cruelty? How and why does it matter? What do the legal rejection of cruelty and the requirements of mercy entail? This essay asks these questions of Lucius Seneca, who first articulated an agent-based conception of cruelty in the context of punishment. The hypothesis is submitted that the answers to these questions offered in Seneca's De clementia constitute one of the turning points in the evolution of practical reason in law. I conclude, however, by arguing that even the mainstream punitive practices of contemporary western societies fail to meet the modest imperatives of the rejection of cruelty and the …


Responding To Potential Employee Misconduct In The Age Of The Whistleblower: Foreseeing And Avoiding Hidden Dangers, Lucian E. Dervan Dec 2007

Responding To Potential Employee Misconduct In The Age Of The Whistleblower: Foreseeing And Avoiding Hidden Dangers, Lucian E. Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

The number of law suits brought against corporations in the United States as a result of employee whistleblowers has risen in recent years. There are two predominant reasons for this trend. First, publicity surrounding cases such as Enron in the early 2000s have made employees more sensitive to potential misconduct in the workplace. For instance, a 2007 study found that 56% of employees reported that they had observed conduct that “violated company ethics standards, policy, or the law” in the previous twelve months. Second, employees are now more aware of the role of whistleblowers and are more likely to report …


Watching Your Step: Avoiding The Pitfalls And Perils Of Corporate Internal Investigations, Lucian E. Dervan Dec 2004

Watching Your Step: Avoiding The Pitfalls And Perils Of Corporate Internal Investigations, Lucian E. Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

Since the creation of the Corporate Fraud Task Force in July 2002, the United States Department of Justice and the other member agencies have worked feverishly to ferret out corporate crime and punish wrongdoers. The Task Force, in the three years following the announcement of its formation by President Bush, has instituted hundreds of investigations, secured over five hundred corporate fraud convictions or guilty pleas, and charged over nine hundred defendants. Not to be outdone by federal law enforcement authorities, some state attorneys general have followed suit, pursuing their own well-publicized probes of corporate practices. The stakes in these investigations …


Three Governors: Herman Talmadge, The Georgia Supreme Court And The Gubernatorial Election Of 1946, Lucian E. Dervan Nov 2002

Three Governors: Herman Talmadge, The Georgia Supreme Court And The Gubernatorial Election Of 1946, Lucian E. Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

Herman Talmadge, who died March 21, 2002, was a governor, senator, and Georgia icon who controlled state politics for much of the last half of the 20th century. While many events in Talmadge’s life deserve attention, one event in particular stands out amongst the trials and tribulations, victories and scandals in this long American political life. In 1946, the Georgia gubernatorial election brought a state government to its knees, a state Supreme Court to the height of its power and Talmadge into the national spotlight as a revolver toting aspiring governor.


Selected Conceptions Of Federalism: The Selective Use Of History In The Supreme Court's States' Rights Opinions, Lucian E. Dervan Dec 2000

Selected Conceptions Of Federalism: The Selective Use Of History In The Supreme Court's States' Rights Opinions, Lucian E. Dervan

Lucian E Dervan

In the period leading to the Civil War, debate over federalism and states’ rights developed into the seeds of a war that would forever change America. Over one hundred years later, the debate over federalism continues, unanswered by the blood of more than half a million soldiers. Over the last decade, the United States Supreme Court has increased state sovereignty and state immunity to levels unseen since the pre-Civil War period. The Court’s opinions are structured in a manner that relies significantly on historical methodologies. The multiple rationales used to structure the Justices’ arguments clash, and the Justices spar with …