Reference no: EM133059585

International criminal law

Assignment 1 (maximum 300 words)

The population in fictive state Epsilon consists of two major ethnic groups, group Apsa and group Ceste. The groups have very different historical background and heritage. They also have different wealth status in society, where the Ceste group is privileged due to its political ties to former colonial states. The groups have lived side by side in peace but there have always been tensions between the groups.

In connection toan election in 2010 there were rumours of fraud and corruption among high-ranked Cestian politicians, which naturally upset the Apsian population. The tensions between the groups intensified, and a time of political instability emerged. One day the government was dissolved and the military saw its chance toseize power. Its leaders (most of them Apsians), jointly declared that the military was the true and formal leader of the country. This was not accepted among Cestians and in a few weeks the ethnic tensions escalated into a multitude of smaller conflicts in different parts of Epsilon.

Ceste had no real military backup and weredependent on constant recruitment of soldiers and access to weapons via paramilitary groups. Some of the weapons, including the so-called X-gun, were bought by Ceste and smuggled into the country from neighbouring states. The bullets of the X-gunexpandedon impact, causing great bodily harm.

One situation characterized the severity of the conflict. Fifteen Apsianprivate soldiers had been commanded to control a river bordering a neighbouring country. They would make sure that no weapons were brought into the Epsilon territory, and into the hands of Ceste. One morning the soldiers jointly decided to go to a nearby town mainly inhabitated by Cestians. They smashed up shop windows, broke into houses and lit fire to the primary school. Theyalso capturedabout 20 children and women and locked them up in a smallshed. The soldiers told them that they would be used as slaves in the future Apsian empire. Eventually the captives were released after Cestian forces ambushed the Apsian soldiers and shot themwith X-guns.

Later on, there is a ceasefire and a peace agreement was negotiated after mediation from the UN.

Have any international crimes been committed? If so, how would you explain the individual responsibility? Motivate your answer and refer to the Rome Statute. (Assume that Epsilon ratified the Rome Statute in 2005).

Assignment 2 (maximum 200 words)

a) What is meant by the complementarity principle, where is it regulated in the Rome statute, and in what way does it serve the purpose of ICC?

b) Identify the contextual elements of crime against humanity (art 7 of the Rome statute).

Debate Memo

The assignment for this exam will be to address the statement below as if you were preparing for a debate. You need to present both the pro and the con side to the argument in a coherent text. In the conclusion of your memo, you shall reflect on two sides and draw your own conclusion/s regarding the statement. When you present the arguments of the two sides make sure that you're not only presenting their claims, but that you also explain their arguments used to reach the claim, i.e., account for their thesis. You need to go beyond the rhetoric of the argument and also account for the content of the claim (what the claim is based on and how it is substantiated/supported). Make use of the course literature and the sources that you based your debate on.

Question (1-2 pages, max 2 pages + 10%)

Can International Criminal Law end impunity, create justice and contribute to peace?

Attachment:- Debate Memo.rar