Crimes against humanity : towards a more comprehensive approach?

Abstract

The 1st of July 2022 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the coming into force of the Rome Statute of the International Court. At the time of writing, in June 2021, Karim Khan is in the process of taking over as the third Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, following Luis Moreno Ocampo and Fatou Bensouda. As the Statute approaches its 20 years of coming into force and the third Chief Prosecutor in the Court’s history assumes his duties, it is an opportune time to reflect on one of the core crimes covered within the Statute. It is this context that the Centre for the Study and Practice of Conflict Resolution at the University of Malta undertook an initiative to reflect critically on one of the core crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction: Crimes Against Humanity (CAH). Thus, the Centre in collaboration with the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies and the Department of International Law at the same university, organised an academic seminar on the theme: Crimes Against Humanity: Towards A More Comprehensive Approach? The seminar brought together a number of scholars working in Malta, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the USA, all of whom share an interest in the evolution of CAH. This collection of essays stems from the seminar, which was held in April 2021. The purpose of this publication is twofold: to examine some of the ways in which CAH has developed over time; and to explore some future directions which CAH may follow. Essentially, this publication seeks to chart the course of CAH from inception to their current manifestation, while signposting some approaches in their understanding which may be pursued in the coming years