Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Criminal Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 19 of 19

Full-Text Articles in Criminal Law

The Meaning Of Wrongdoing - A Crime Of Disrespecting The Flag: Grounds For Preserving National Unity, Mohammed Saif-Alden Wattad Sep 2018

The Meaning Of Wrongdoing - A Crime Of Disrespecting The Flag: Grounds For Preserving National Unity, Mohammed Saif-Alden Wattad

San Diego International Law Journal

To conclude on this issue, the rights of others, as individuals and as a whole, are formulated as the social protected interest that criminal law seeks to protect through criminal means, and it is with these rights that criminal law theory should be concerned in the first level of scrutiny. However, in the second level of scrutiny, an additional set of rights are brought into play; these are the rights of the individual, namely the actor, to exercise their constitutional rights e.g., free speech, liberty, free exercise of religion. The second level of scrutiny requires balancing those rights with the …


The Judicialization Of International Atrocity Crimes: The Kharkov Trial Of 1943, Michael J. Bazyler, Kellyanne Rose Gold Nov 2012

The Judicialization Of International Atrocity Crimes: The Kharkov Trial Of 1943, Michael J. Bazyler, Kellyanne Rose Gold

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article analyzes the Kharkov trial, the first trial of Nazi war criminals undertaken by any Allied Power, as well as the first trial of the Holocaust. It is written on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Kharkov trial. Part II, as background, describes the Holocaust as experienced in Kharkov, Ukraine. Part III discusses the trial that took place in Kharkov: the defendants, the prosecution, the setting, and the testimony. Part IV looks at the Kharkov trial as a typical Stalinist “show trial,” where guilt has been predetermined and a trial is used merely as a show to …


Protecting The Children Of The World: A Proposal For Tracking Convicted Sex Offenders Internationally, Nicole J. Smith Mar 2012

Protecting The Children Of The World: A Proposal For Tracking Convicted Sex Offenders Internationally, Nicole J. Smith

San Diego International Law Journal

This comment will compare and contrast the laws governing sex offenders in the United States and European Union and address the current obstacles in establishing a comprehensive international law about sex offenders. Finally, this comment will propose a global sex offender registry to allay the problem of sex offenders in the international community.


Retrying The Acquitted In England Part Iii: Prosecution Appeals Against Judges' Rulings Of "No Case To Answer", David S. Rudstein Oct 2011

Retrying The Acquitted In England Part Iii: Prosecution Appeals Against Judges' Rulings Of "No Case To Answer", David S. Rudstein

San Diego International Law Journal

The Order in Council permitting the prosecution appeal of "Mo" Courtney's acquittal and allowing him to be retried for the same offense of which he had previously been acquitted stems from the Criminal Justice Act 2003. That Act, which applies in England and Wales, grants the government the right to appeal certain rulings by the trial judge in criminal prosecutions on an indictment, including a ruling that there is no case to answer, i.e., a directed verdict of acquittal, and if the appeal is successful, allows the reviewing court to order that the acquitted defendant?s trial be resumed or that …


Gangs, Violence, And Victims In El Salvador, Guatemala, And Honduras, Juan J. Fogelbach Mar 2011

Gangs, Violence, And Victims In El Salvador, Guatemala, And Honduras, Juan J. Fogelbach

San Diego International Law Journal

Country conditions in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras will require U.S. courts to address complex protection law issues involving current and former gang members, as well as their victims. For example, just three months after the Seventh Circuit's decision, the Sixth Circuit also held that former gang members were a particular social group. In order to ensure proper handling of these cases, advocates, adjudicators, government attorneys, and judges must acquire a high level of understanding of gangs and violence in the affected countries. To facilitate this process, this paper will synthesize and analyze publicly available information on gangs and violence …


A Sense Of Duty: The Illusory Criminal Jurisdiction Of The U.S./Iraq Status Of Forces Agreement, Chris Jenks Mar 2010

A Sense Of Duty: The Illusory Criminal Jurisdiction Of The U.S./Iraq Status Of Forces Agreement, Chris Jenks

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article will examine the Iraq SOFA’s use of duty status as a basis for determining which State has primary jurisdiction over U.S. service members for alleged criminal misconduct in Iraq. In the third section, the Article will briefly explain what a SOFA is, and how and why they are used, focusing on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) SOFA. This section will also utilize examples of U.S. service member misconduct, both associated with and detached from official duty, to illustrate the application of an acts-based SOFA jurisdiction article. The fourth section turns to the Iraq SOFA’s status-based jurisdiction article, …


Much Ado About Non-State Actors: The Vanishing Relevance Of State Affiliation In International Criminal Law, John Cerone Mar 2009

Much Ado About Non-State Actors: The Vanishing Relevance Of State Affiliation In International Criminal Law, John Cerone

San Diego International Law Journal

Much has been made recently of the deficiencies of international law in grappling with violence perpetrated by non-state actors. From transnational terrorist networks to private security contractors (PSCs), organizations that are not officially part of the apparatus of any state are increasingly engaged in protracted episodes of intense violence, giving rise to questions of accountability under international law. Does international law provide rules applicable to such conduct? While the repression of crime, especially that perpetrated by non-state actors, has traditionally been left to the internal law of states, most international jurists will point to the ancient rules of international law …


Victims And Promise Of Remedies: International Law Fairytale Gone Bad, Sanja Djajic May 2008

Victims And Promise Of Remedies: International Law Fairytale Gone Bad, Sanja Djajic

San Diego International Law Journal

The aim of this Article is to examine such developments and the current availability of remedies for human rights violations in general. The Author will also examine the appropriateness of such remedies and opportunities to pursue them. The Article starts by identifying remedies in international law. This is followed by a case study and analysis of attempts by several national judiciaries to grapple with remedies prescribed by international law, against the background of international and national remedies. In the course of examining the reasons for an inadequate remedial structure, the Article will focus on several national cases. They will illustrate …


Retrying The Acquitted In England Part Ii: The Exception To The Rule Against Double Jeopardy For Tainted Acquittals, David S. Rudstein May 2008

Retrying The Acquitted In England Part Ii: The Exception To The Rule Against Double Jeopardy For Tainted Acquittals, David S. Rudstein

San Diego International Law Journal

Parliament enacted a statute in 1996 intended to limit the double jeopardy bar in some situations in which the defendant obtained an acquittal through improper means, thereby permitting the government to retry the person for the same offense of which he previously was tried and acquitted. The statute, part of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, allows a retrial when an individual's acquittal was tainted, which, under the statute, means an acquittal resulting from interference with, or intimidation of, a juror, witness, or potential witness. In allowing a retrial in such circumstances, the statute creates an exception to the …


Retrying The Acquitted In England, Part I: The Exception To The Rule Against Double Jeopardy For New And Compelling Evidence, David S. Rudstein May 2007

Retrying The Acquitted In England, Part I: The Exception To The Rule Against Double Jeopardy For New And Compelling Evidence, David S. Rudstein

San Diego International Law Journal

More than 240 years ago, Sir William Blackstone, perhaps the most important commentator on the English common law, wrote that when a man is once fairly found not guilty upon any indictment, or other prosecution, before any court having competent jurisdiction of the offence, he may plead such acquittal in bar of any subsequent accusation for the same crime. This plea of autrefois acquit (a former acquittal), Blackstone explained, is based upon the principle that no man is to be brought into jeopardy of his life, more than once for the same offence, which he called a universal maxim of …


Litigating Child Recruitment Before The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Noah B. Novogrodsky May 2006

Litigating Child Recruitment Before The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Noah B. Novogrodsky

San Diego International Law Journal

In May 2004, the Special Court for Sierra Leone issued a landmark decision finding that an individual may be held criminally responsible for the offense of recruiting child soldiers into armed conflict. As a hybrid tribunal established by the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone to try those who "bear the greatest responsibility" for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the country's civil war after November 1996, the Special Court is the first international criminal body to indict a person for the crime of recruiting and employing children in war. The decision in the case of …


The Obligation To Use Force To Stop Acts Of Genocide: An Overview Of Legal Precedents, Customary Norms, And State Responsibility, Joshua M. Kagan May 2006

The Obligation To Use Force To Stop Acts Of Genocide: An Overview Of Legal Precedents, Customary Norms, And State Responsibility, Joshua M. Kagan

San Diego International Law Journal

Though the Genocide Convention was created to "liberate mankind from [the] odious scourge" of genocide, the dreams of its drafters have still not come to fruition. The commission of genocide, widely considered the most appalling of all crimes, did not end with the signing and ratification of the Convention in 1948. Genocide continues in the world today. While its sentiments were noble and its aims commendable, the Genocide Convention as it is interpreted and applied today is insufficient to stop the commission of genocide in the world. In order to rid the world of this crime, a new interpretation of …


Countering Terrorism: From Wigged Judges To Helmeted Soldiers - Legal Perspectives On America's Counter-Terrorism Responses, Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto May 2005

Countering Terrorism: From Wigged Judges To Helmeted Soldiers - Legal Perspectives On America's Counter-Terrorism Responses, Jackson Nyamuya Maogoto

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article aims to evaluate the international legal perspectives attendant to U.S. counter-terrorism measures and policy and the attendant strictures an implications. Part II commences by grappling with the uneasy relationship that legal and political complexities have foisted on the UN's ability to address terrorism and the difficult issue of the definition of terrorism. Within the context of this part, the Article also addresses the two dominant counter-terrorism paradigms-law enforcement and conflict management. Part III oves on to evaluate the law enforcement paradigm which treats terrorism as a crime engaging domestic law enforcement. This part offers a discussion of the …


Securing A Journalist's Testimonial Privilege In The International Criminal Court, Anastasia Heeger May 2005

Securing A Journalist's Testimonial Privilege In The International Criminal Court, Anastasia Heeger

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article argues that given the unique and significant contribution of journalists to uncovering and documenting war crimes, the ICC should amend its evidentiary rules to recognize a qualified journalist's privilege. In doing so, the ICC should clearly identify who may benefit from such a privilege, clarify a procedure for balancing the need of reportorial testimony against prosecution and defense interests, and, lastly provide for mandatory consultations between the court and affected news organizations or journalists before allowing the issuance of a subpoena. Such clarity will benefit not only journalists working in war zones and the ICC, but will provide …


The Prohibition Of Widespread Rape As A Jus Cogens, Dean Adams May 2005

The Prohibition Of Widespread Rape As A Jus Cogens, Dean Adams

San Diego International Law Journal

This Comment explains why the prohibition of widespread rape should be recognized as a jus cogens through analyses of the failure of existing international legal instruments, advances within international law towards the universal prohibition of widespread rape, and policy reasons for classifying widespread rape as a jus cogens. In doing so, this comment will demonstrate the particular timeliness of this topic by reviewing the use of widespread rape in several countries through the 1990s, the widespread rape presently occurring in Kenya, and the emerging reports from Iraq of rape committed at the hands of the Saddam Hussein regime. Finally, this …


From The Nuremberg Charter To The Rome Statute: Defining The Elements Of Crimes Against Humanity, Mohamed Elewa Badar May 2004

From The Nuremberg Charter To The Rome Statute: Defining The Elements Of Crimes Against Humanity, Mohamed Elewa Badar

San Diego International Law Journal

The purpose of this study is to examine the past and present contours of the prohibition of "crimes against humanity", analyzing and scrutinizing the essential elements of this crime, with a view to obtaining and drawing together basic criteria that could eventually guide the adjudication of this offence. Furthermore, this clarification of "crimes against humanity" is particularly timely with respect to the soon functioning International Criminal Court (ICC).


Military Detention And The Judiciary: Al Qaeda, The Kkk And Supra-State Law, Wayne Mccormack May 2004

Military Detention And The Judiciary: Al Qaeda, The Kkk And Supra-State Law, Wayne Mccormack

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article touches on the choice of whether to use the language and tools of war or the language and tools of law enforcement in responding to terrorism. The principal focus, however, is on the limited issue of judicial review and military detentions. The Article reviews the case law created on this subject during the Civil War and World War II. Historical considerations are found by the author to be relevant and helpful in solving the incoherency of current legal responses to terrorism. For instance, indefinite military detention is not coherent with either the international law concept of violations of …


The Privileges And Immunities Of The International Criminal Court: Are They Sufficient For The Proper Functioning Of The Court Or Is There Still Room For Improvement, Stuart Beresford May 2002

The Privileges And Immunities Of The International Criminal Court: Are They Sufficient For The Proper Functioning Of The Court Or Is There Still Room For Improvement, Stuart Beresford

San Diego International Law Journal

[T]o determine whether the ICC has the privileges and immunities necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the organization, this Article will first discuss the historical development of privileges and immunities for international organizations, including the legal foundation of the privileges and immunities of the Court. It will then examine the privileges and immunities of the organization as a legal entity, before turning to the privileges and immunities accorded to the various categories of individuals who have to attend the institution in an official capacity. Lastly, because a number of other categories of individuals play an essential role in the …


International Criminal Defence Ethics: The Law Of Professional Conduct For Defence Counsel Appearing Before International Criminal Tribunals, Michael Bohlander May 2000

International Criminal Defence Ethics: The Law Of Professional Conduct For Defence Counsel Appearing Before International Criminal Tribunals, Michael Bohlander

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article presents an overview of the Codes and relevant Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the ICTY and the ICTR, as well as an analysis of their provisions. The ICTR's Code of Conduct is almost identical to the ICTY's Code of Conduct. Primarily, this Article examines ICTY law. This Article closes with an outlook on the future of criminal defence before international criminal tribunals. As of yet, there is no provision for the professional conduct of defence counsel before the International Criminal Court (ICC).