The Contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the Law on Criminal Responsibility of Children in International Criminal Law
The revision of laws and the application of culpability to those most responsible for serious humanitarian law violations has functioned as a necessary condition for achieving peace in most post-war societies. However, there is an embarrassing silence when it comes to addressing the question of whet...
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ndltd-fiu.edu-oai-digitalcommons.fiu.edu-etd-43482018-07-20T03:31:48Z The Contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the Law on Criminal Responsibility of Children in International Criminal Law Podcameni, Ana Paula The revision of laws and the application of culpability to those most responsible for serious humanitarian law violations has functioned as a necessary condition for achieving peace in most post-war societies. However, there is an embarrassing silence when it comes to addressing the question of whether children are to be subjected to the principle of individual criminal responsibility. As morally controversial as it is, the question remains fundamental. Unfortunately, children have been involved in armed conflicts, as victims primarily, but not exclusively. Children are among those accused of having committed brutal and terrible international crimes in times of armed conflict when part of armed groups or armed forces. And with no consensus within the international community regarding their status within International Criminal Law — no established law within International Law and no consistent practice among states on the issue— the problem of criminal accountability of children accused of international crimes remains unanswered. The current work conducts a legal positivist analysis with the focus of investigating the contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the current debate on children’s criminal responsibility under International Criminal Law. Among significant contributions, the Statute of the Special Court brought one interesting innovation to the debate on children’s potential criminal responsibility. Juveniles starting at age fifteen would be considered viable for prosecution if among those most responsible for the Special Court, as established in Article 7.1. The above innovation translates into two essential contributions to the debate on children criminal responsibility for international crimes: first the Special Court was the first international court to elect a minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) at age fifteen to be operational within the scope of the court. Secondly, and equally important, the court reflected the position that children, after the stipulated MACR would be considered, at least a priori, viable subjects of the international criminal system. 2017-06-12T07:00:00Z text application/pdf http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3358 http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4348&context=etd FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations FIU Digital Commons International Criminal Law Children's Rights Criminal Responsibility Special Court for Sierra Leone Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility Minimum Age of Legal Recruitment Criminal Law Human Rights Law International Humanitarian Law International Law International Relations Jurisprudence |
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International Criminal Law Children's Rights Criminal Responsibility Special Court for Sierra Leone Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility Minimum Age of Legal Recruitment Criminal Law Human Rights Law International Humanitarian Law International Law International Relations Jurisprudence |
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International Criminal Law Children's Rights Criminal Responsibility Special Court for Sierra Leone Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility Minimum Age of Legal Recruitment Criminal Law Human Rights Law International Humanitarian Law International Law International Relations Jurisprudence Podcameni, Ana Paula The Contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the Law on Criminal Responsibility of Children in International Criminal Law |
description |
The revision of laws and the application of culpability to those most responsible for serious humanitarian law violations has functioned as a necessary condition for achieving peace in most post-war societies. However, there is an embarrassing silence when it comes to addressing the question of whether children are to be subjected to the principle of individual criminal responsibility. As morally controversial as it is, the question remains fundamental. Unfortunately, children have been involved in armed conflicts, as victims primarily, but not exclusively. Children are among those accused of having committed brutal and terrible international crimes in times of armed conflict when part of armed groups or armed forces. And with no consensus within the international community regarding their status within International Criminal Law — no established law within International Law and no consistent practice among states on the issue— the problem of criminal accountability of children accused of international crimes remains unanswered.
The current work conducts a legal positivist analysis with the focus of investigating the contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the current debate on children’s criminal responsibility under International Criminal Law. Among significant contributions, the Statute of the Special Court brought one interesting innovation to the debate on children’s potential criminal responsibility. Juveniles starting at age fifteen would be considered viable for prosecution if among those most responsible for the Special Court, as established in Article 7.1. The above innovation translates into two essential contributions to the debate on children criminal responsibility for international crimes: first the Special Court was the first international court to elect a minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) at age fifteen to be operational within the scope of the court. Secondly, and equally important, the court reflected the position that children, after the stipulated MACR would be considered, at least a priori, viable subjects of the international criminal system. |
author |
Podcameni, Ana Paula |
author_facet |
Podcameni, Ana Paula |
author_sort |
Podcameni, Ana Paula |
title |
The Contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the Law on Criminal Responsibility of Children in International Criminal Law |
title_short |
The Contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the Law on Criminal Responsibility of Children in International Criminal Law |
title_full |
The Contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the Law on Criminal Responsibility of Children in International Criminal Law |
title_fullStr |
The Contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the Law on Criminal Responsibility of Children in International Criminal Law |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Contribution of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to the Law on Criminal Responsibility of Children in International Criminal Law |
title_sort |
contribution of the special court for sierra leone to the law on criminal responsibility of children in international criminal law |
publisher |
FIU Digital Commons |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3358 http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4348&context=etd |
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