From the Nuremberg charter to the Rome statute: Defining the elements of crimes against humanity

Abstract

The absence of a specialized convention for "crimes against humanity," and its consideration as a category of international crimes whose specific contents consist of a number of crimes contained in the laws of most national legal systems, required an exhaustive study to distinguish such a category of crimes from "ordinary" municipal crimes (i.e., murder, assault, torture, etc.). 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).