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Criminal Complicity or Business as Usual: A Study on Mens Rea Requirements for Corporate Complicity in War Crimes

Idborg, Amanda LU (2022) LAGF03 20221
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
This thesis examines the levels of mens rea required for corporate actors to be held liable for complicity in war crimes committed by States in non- international armed conflicts. The notion that corporations acting in conflict- torn areas can affect negatively upon the state of conflicts and in some cases even contribute to the commission of war crimes by other actors is becoming increasingly accepted. This calls for research regarding the ways corporate actors can be held accountable for potential wrongdoing under current regulations of international criminal law.

The investigation is conducted using the legal doctrinal method and is written from an international as well as, in part, comparative perspective. Primary sources consisting... (More)
This thesis examines the levels of mens rea required for corporate actors to be held liable for complicity in war crimes committed by States in non- international armed conflicts. The notion that corporations acting in conflict- torn areas can affect negatively upon the state of conflicts and in some cases even contribute to the commission of war crimes by other actors is becoming increasingly accepted. This calls for research regarding the ways corporate actors can be held accountable for potential wrongdoing under current regulations of international criminal law.

The investigation is conducted using the legal doctrinal method and is written from an international as well as, in part, comparative perspective. Primary sources consisting in international treaties and past court rulings are studied in combination with legal doctrine primarily on the topics of international criminal law, complicity and mens rea.

The results of the investigation show that current regulations on mens rea do make it possible to hold corporate representatives accountable for complicity in war crimes committed by States, but that it is generally required that they had a relatively good amount of knowledge about the possible implications of their involvement. The investigation further finds that mens rea requirements tend to differ depending on which court tries a case, with international courts generally applying stricter requirements of mens rea than national ones. These differing requirements of mens rea give testament to a fragmentation of international criminal law, meaning that a case could lead to conviction if tried by one court and acquittal if tried by another. The varying mens rea requirements can be seen as constituting a problem with regard to the efficiency of international criminal law, while on the other hand promoting equality and foreseeability within each national system. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Denna kandidatuppsats undersöker gällande krav på mens rea för att företagsrepresentanter ska kunna hållas juridiskt ansvariga för medverkan i krigsbrott begångna av Stater inom ramen för icke-internationella väpnade konflikter. En alltmer vedertagen uppfattning är att företag som bedriver affärsverksamhet i konflikthärjade områden kan ha en negativ påverkan på den aktuella konflikten samt, i vissa fall, till och med bidra till andra aktörers krigsbrott. Med anledning av detta finns ett behov av forskning om hur representanter för företag kan hållas ansvariga för eventuellt klandervärt handlande under gällande internationell straffrätt.

Den föreliggande undersökningen utförs med hjälp av en rättsdogmatisk metod samt genom tillämpande av... (More)
Denna kandidatuppsats undersöker gällande krav på mens rea för att företagsrepresentanter ska kunna hållas juridiskt ansvariga för medverkan i krigsbrott begångna av Stater inom ramen för icke-internationella väpnade konflikter. En alltmer vedertagen uppfattning är att företag som bedriver affärsverksamhet i konflikthärjade områden kan ha en negativ påverkan på den aktuella konflikten samt, i vissa fall, till och med bidra till andra aktörers krigsbrott. Med anledning av detta finns ett behov av forskning om hur representanter för företag kan hållas ansvariga för eventuellt klandervärt handlande under gällande internationell straffrätt.

Den föreliggande undersökningen utförs med hjälp av en rättsdogmatisk metod samt genom tillämpande av ett internationellt och, till del, komparativt perspektiv. Primära rättskällor i form av internationella överenskommelser och tidigare domstolsavgöranden studeras i kombination med juridisk doktrin främst på ämnena internationell straffrätt, medhjälp samt mens rea.

Uppsatsens resultat visar att rådande krav på mens rea gör det möjligt att hålla representanter för företag straffrättsligt ansvariga för medverkan i krigsbrott begångna av Stater, men att det generellt krävs att de haft relativt god kunskap om hur deras inblandning kunde komma att påverka förekomsten av brott. Vidare finner undersökningen att kraven på mens rea tenderar att se något olika ut beroende på vilken domstol som prövar ett visst mål, då internationella domstolar generellt tillämpar högre krav på mens rea än nationella domstolar. Dessa varierande krav på mens rea visar på en fragmentering inom den internationella straffrätten, vilken innebär att ett och samma mål kan leda till fällande dom i en domstol och friande dom i en annan. Att olika krav på mens rea tillämpas av olika domstolar kan vara problematiskt när det gäller att ge den internationella straffrätten maximalt genomslag, medan det däremot främjar likställighet och förutsebarhet inom varje nationellt rättssystem. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Idborg, Amanda LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20221
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
International Criminal Law, Corporate Complicity, Mens Rea, War Crimes.
language
English
id
9081370
date added to LUP
2022-06-28 09:32:35
date last changed
2022-06-28 09:32:35
@misc{9081370,
  abstract     = {{This thesis examines the levels of mens rea required for corporate actors to be held liable for complicity in war crimes committed by States in non- international armed conflicts. The notion that corporations acting in conflict- torn areas can affect negatively upon the state of conflicts and in some cases even contribute to the commission of war crimes by other actors is becoming increasingly accepted. This calls for research regarding the ways corporate actors can be held accountable for potential wrongdoing under current regulations of international criminal law.

The investigation is conducted using the legal doctrinal method and is written from an international as well as, in part, comparative perspective. Primary sources consisting in international treaties and past court rulings are studied in combination with legal doctrine primarily on the topics of international criminal law, complicity and mens rea.

The results of the investigation show that current regulations on mens rea do make it possible to hold corporate representatives accountable for complicity in war crimes committed by States, but that it is generally required that they had a relatively good amount of knowledge about the possible implications of their involvement. The investigation further finds that mens rea requirements tend to differ depending on which court tries a case, with international courts generally applying stricter requirements of mens rea than national ones. These differing requirements of mens rea give testament to a fragmentation of international criminal law, meaning that a case could lead to conviction if tried by one court and acquittal if tried by another. The varying mens rea requirements can be seen as constituting a problem with regard to the efficiency of international criminal law, while on the other hand promoting equality and foreseeability within each national system.}},
  author       = {{Idborg, Amanda}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Criminal Complicity or Business as Usual: A Study on Mens Rea Requirements for Corporate Complicity in War Crimes}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}