Individual Criminal Responsibility for Corporate Leaders. A Comparison between International Criminal Law and Domestic Law
(2022) JURM02 20221Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Uppsatsen undersöker den internationella straffrättens förväntningar på
ansvarighållandet av företagsledare på individnivå. Vidare utreds huruvida
nationell rätt, här svensk rätt i jämförelse med tysk, uppfyller de krav och
förväntningar som den internationella straffrätten ställer på nationell
reglering. Dessutom syftar uppsatsen till att sätta svensk reglering av
medverkansansvar för företagsledare i en internationell kontext genom att
undersöka rättsläget utifrån internationell och komparativ doktrin.
Trots att ingen företagsledare hittills har ställts inför rätta på internationell
nivå för folkrättsbrott kan vägledning för förväntningar återfinnas i rättsfall
för civila och militära ledare med medverkansansvar. Generellt... (More) - Uppsatsen undersöker den internationella straffrättens förväntningar på
ansvarighållandet av företagsledare på individnivå. Vidare utreds huruvida
nationell rätt, här svensk rätt i jämförelse med tysk, uppfyller de krav och
förväntningar som den internationella straffrätten ställer på nationell
reglering. Dessutom syftar uppsatsen till att sätta svensk reglering av
medverkansansvar för företagsledare i en internationell kontext genom att
undersöka rättsläget utifrån internationell och komparativ doktrin.
Trots att ingen företagsledare hittills har ställts inför rätta på internationell
nivå för folkrättsbrott kan vägledning för förväntningar återfinnas i rättsfall
för civila och militära ledare med medverkansansvar. Generellt sett kräver
den internationella straffrätten en viss tröskel för ett kausalsamband mellan
den huvudsakliga och den medverkande handlingen, där graden av samband
får avgöras i varje enskilt fall. I kontrast ställer varken svensk eller tysk rätt
samma typ av höga tröskel på kausalsamband. Vidare omfattar den svenska
medverkansläran en bred syn på actus reus i komparativ jämförelse som
motiveras av en påstådd allmän räckvidd av medverkansreglerna i svensk
domstol. För mens rea accepteras alla former av uppsåt inom svensk rätt,
medan den internationella straffrätten huvudsakligen kräver de mer
allvarliga formerna av uppsåt. Vidare är det av vikt att kunna skilja på olika
typer av företagsaktivitet för bedömningen av actus reus och
uppsåtsbedömningen.
Den internationella straffrättens trösklar verkar motiveras av
allvarlighetsprincipen och den framväxande institutionaliseringens mandat
hos ICC för internationell straffrätt. Uppsatsen finner dock att de
ansvarsbärande subjekten för åtal av internationella brott, ICC och enskilda
stater, skiljer sig åt beträffande normer och deras applicering i domstol. I
slutändan handlar konflikten enligt författaren om den inneboende striden i
föreningen mellan historiskt belagda principer hos den internationella
straffrätten och hävdvunna grundsatser inom straffrättsdogmatiken; här
möter individen i form av en företagsledare en kollektiv kontext i folkrättens
brott. Vid en bedömning av relevanta gärningsmän och främjare är juridiska
trösklar viktiga för förutsebarhet och proportionalitet. Uppsatsen finner att
den internationella straffrättens avsedda syften befinner sig i ett
utvecklingsstadium avseende företagsledare som representerar
företagsansvar i en globaliserad värld. (Less) - Abstract
- The thesis investigates the expectations of international criminal law on the prosecution of corporate leaders on an international and domestic level for international crimes based on the sources, purposes, and principles guiding international criminal law. Also, this thesis examines whether domestic law, here Swedish, is compliant with the obligations and expectations presented by international criminal law. Moreover, the thesis aims to put the Swedish regulation on aiding and abetting into an international context by comparing the legal status to international and other domestic scholarship.
Although no business leaders have been put on trial on an international level for the commission of international crimes, guidance can be sought... (More) - The thesis investigates the expectations of international criminal law on the prosecution of corporate leaders on an international and domestic level for international crimes based on the sources, purposes, and principles guiding international criminal law. Also, this thesis examines whether domestic law, here Swedish, is compliant with the obligations and expectations presented by international criminal law. Moreover, the thesis aims to put the Swedish regulation on aiding and abetting into an international context by comparing the legal status to international and other domestic scholarship.
Although no business leaders have been put on trial on an international level for the commission of international crimes, guidance can be sought from international and domestic jurisprudence for civilian and military leaders. International criminal law requires an aiding and abetting act to have a 'substantial contribution' to the principal crime. However, the demarcations of the definition must be assessed by each singular case. In contrast, neither Swedish nor German law poses the same type of causality requirement. Further, the actus reus on aiding and abetting in Swedish law stretches far compared to other domestic regulations, motivated by alleged universal applicability of the general provisions of the Swedish Criminal Code in domestic courts. For mens rea, the Swedish rules accept all kinds of intent, while international criminal law requires a high mens rea. A distinction between neutral business activity becomes relevant for both actus reus and mens rea for the legal assessment overall.
The high thresholds of international criminal law seem to be motivated by the gravity principle and the mandate of the ongoing institutionalisation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in international criminal law. However, the thesis finds that the investigated state which shares the jurisdiction over international crimes differs from the ICC in legislation and application of domestic and potential international norms. Ultimately, the conflict touches upon the inherent mixture of historically emergent principles of ICL respectively criminal law, making the individual, representing the collective corporation, stand out in a collective context of international crimes. In sorting the myriad of potential perpetrators in the broad collective context of international crimes, thresholds are of utmost importance for foreseeability and proportionality. The thesis finds that international criminal law's foreseen purposes are currently under development concerning the current legal status of aiding and abetting for corporate officers representing corporate responsibility in a globalised world. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9080429
- author
- Halfvarson, Caroline LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- JURM02 20221
- year
- 2022
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Wirtschaftsvölkerstrafrecht, corporate criminal liability, corporate criminal responsibility, substantial contribution, individual criminal liability, international criminal law, criminal law
- language
- English
- id
- 9080429
- date added to LUP
- 2022-06-22 09:23:31
- date last changed
- 2022-06-22 09:23:31
@misc{9080429,
abstract = {{The thesis investigates the expectations of international criminal law on the prosecution of corporate leaders on an international and domestic level for international crimes based on the sources, purposes, and principles guiding international criminal law. Also, this thesis examines whether domestic law, here Swedish, is compliant with the obligations and expectations presented by international criminal law. Moreover, the thesis aims to put the Swedish regulation on aiding and abetting into an international context by comparing the legal status to international and other domestic scholarship.
Although no business leaders have been put on trial on an international level for the commission of international crimes, guidance can be sought from international and domestic jurisprudence for civilian and military leaders. International criminal law requires an aiding and abetting act to have a 'substantial contribution' to the principal crime. However, the demarcations of the definition must be assessed by each singular case. In contrast, neither Swedish nor German law poses the same type of causality requirement. Further, the actus reus on aiding and abetting in Swedish law stretches far compared to other domestic regulations, motivated by alleged universal applicability of the general provisions of the Swedish Criminal Code in domestic courts. For mens rea, the Swedish rules accept all kinds of intent, while international criminal law requires a high mens rea. A distinction between neutral business activity becomes relevant for both actus reus and mens rea for the legal assessment overall.
The high thresholds of international criminal law seem to be motivated by the gravity principle and the mandate of the ongoing institutionalisation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in international criminal law. However, the thesis finds that the investigated state which shares the jurisdiction over international crimes differs from the ICC in legislation and application of domestic and potential international norms. Ultimately, the conflict touches upon the inherent mixture of historically emergent principles of ICL respectively criminal law, making the individual, representing the collective corporation, stand out in a collective context of international crimes. In sorting the myriad of potential perpetrators in the broad collective context of international crimes, thresholds are of utmost importance for foreseeability and proportionality. The thesis finds that international criminal law's foreseen purposes are currently under development concerning the current legal status of aiding and abetting for corporate officers representing corporate responsibility in a globalised world.}},
author = {{Halfvarson, Caroline}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Individual Criminal Responsibility for Corporate Leaders. A Comparison between International Criminal Law and Domestic Law}},
year = {{2022}},
}