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International Crimes and the Right to Punish
Author(s) -
Müller Luise K.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
ratio juris
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.344
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 1467-9337
pISSN - 0952-1917
DOI - 10.1111/raju.12253
Subject(s) - harm , argument (complex analysis) , humanity , punishment (psychology) , crimes against humanity , position (finance) , law , criminal responsibility , connection (principal bundle) , criminology , political science , international law , sociology , criminal law , law and economics , psychology , war crime , social psychology , economics , biochemistry , chemistry , structural engineering , finance , engineering
What can international courts say when criminals ask, by what right do you try me? Some authors attempt to draw a connection between humanity's responsibility to call offenders to account and the harm humanity has suffered as a consequence of the offender's crimes. Others have argued that there need not be a special connection between those calling to account and the offenders, as the right to punish offenders is a general right each and every person has. Both lines of argument are ultimately unconvincing. Instead, I argue for a modified version of the second position which proposes a democratically based theory of responsibility for punishment held by international criminal law institutions.