International Criminal Law


Criminal laws vary greatly from country to country.   Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime, according to the U.S. definition.   International criminal law is also the body of international laws such as war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.   International law also covers basic human rights and humanitarian law, which is enforced through the International Criminal Court, which hears the cases that the United Nations Security Council refers to the court.   The court was created on July 1, 2002, under the ‘states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court’ treaty.  
The current state parties to the treaty include all of South America, almost all of Europe and nearly half of all the countries in Africa.   Another 32 countries, including Russia have signed the Rome Statute but have yet to ratify it.   The Republic of Cote d’ Ivoire in West Africa has accepted the courts’ jurisdiction but has neither ratified nor signed the treaty.
United States Criminal law is composed of different criminal elements, such as capital punishment, jail, prison, fines or government supervision.   The U.S. uses five objections through criminal laws; retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and restitution.   Retribution is the most widely used objective.   It calls for putting convicted criminals to unpleasant disadvantages.   Deterrence is to impose a sufficient penalty so that the offender wouldn’t want to commit further crimes.   Incapacitation means to just keep criminals isolated from the public so that the public is protected from their misconduct.   Rehabilitation is the attempts to transform an individual into a valuable member of society and to prevent further offenses by convincing the offender that their behavior was wrong.   Restitution is to repay any hurt inflicted on the victim by the offender and return the victim to his original position.  
Actus Reus is the physical element of committing... [continues]

Read full essay

Cite This Essay

APA

(2012, 03). International Criminal Law. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 03, 2012, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/International-Criminal-Law-942737.html

MLA

"International Criminal Law" StudyMode.com. 03 2012. 03 2012 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/International-Criminal-Law-942737.html>.

CHICAGO

"International Criminal Law." StudyMode.com. 03, 2012. Accessed 03, 2012. http://www.studymode.com/essays/International-Criminal-Law-942737.html.