Comparing the Severity of International Crime

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Comparing*the*Severity**
of*International*Crime*
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Alixandra!Greenman!
Political*Science,*Loyola*Marymount*University!
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May!10,!2013!
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Advised!by:!
Dr.!Richard!Fox!
! ! Political*Science,*Loyola*Marymount*University*
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Table!of!Contents!
Abstract! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 1!
1!!!!!Is!There!a!Hierarchy!of!Seriousness?! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2!
A!!!!!The!Controversy!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 3!
B!!!!!Review!of!the!Literature! ! !!!!! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 12!
! ! ! I! Sentencing:!Its!Consistency!and!What!It!Says!About!Crime!Severity!! 16!
! ! ! ! II! Defining!the!Categories!of!International!Crime! ! ! ! ! ! ! 22!
! ! ! III! Where!the!Literature!Leaves!Us!! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 27!
C!!!!!Methodology!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 29!
! ! ! I! Contextual!Interpretation!of!International!Statutes!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! 29!
! ! ! II! Content!Analysis!of!Three!Tribunals! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 30!
D!!!!!Implications!for!Future!Proceedings! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 30!
E!!!!!Organization!of!the!Remaining!Chapters! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! 32!
2!!!!!Interpreting!International!Law:!Definitions!and!the!Severity!of!Crimes!! ! ! ! 34!
! ! A! Analyzing!International!Statutes! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 36!
! ! B! Key!Findings! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 38!
! ! ! ! I! Genocide’s!Origins!and!Definition! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 39!
! ! ! ! II! Defining!Crimes!against!Humanity! !!!!!!!!! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! 41!
! ! ! ! III! Defining!War!Crimes!! !!!!!!!!! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 47!
! ! ! ! IV! Genocide:!Crime!of!Crimes?!!!!!!!!! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 56!
V! Are!Crimes!against!Humanity!More!Serious!than!War!Crimes?! ! ! 58! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
C! Implications!of!Findings!! ! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 61!
3! Evaluating!Case!Law:!Data!from!Three!Tribunals! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! 63!
! ! A! The!Conflicts! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 65!
! ! ! ! I! The!Yugoslav!Wars! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 65!
! ! ! ! II! The!Rwandan!Genocide! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 69!
! ! ! ! III! The!Sierra!Leone!Civil!War! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 71!
! ! B! Analyzing!Case!Law! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 73!
! ! C! Key!Findings! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 77! !
! ! D! Implications!of!Findings!! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 87!
4! Concluding!Thoughts! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 88!
! ! A! Major!Takeaways! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 88!
! ! B! Policy!Recommendations! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 90!
! ! C! Opportunities!for!Future!Research!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 91!
! ! D! Acknowledgments! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 93!
Appendices! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 94!
! ! A! List!of!Content!Analyzed!Cases!by!Tribunal! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! 94!
! ! ! ! I! International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!the!former!Yugoslavia! ! ! ! 94!
! ! ! ! II! International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!Rwanda! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 95!
III! Special!Court!for!Sierra!Leone! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 96!
! ! B! Coding!Sheet! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 97!
! ! C! Codebook!! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 99!
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Table!of!Figures!
2.1!! Crimes!against!Humanity!as!Defined!by!the!Rome!Statute! ! ! ! ! ! ! 42!
2.2!! Crimes!against!Humanity!as!Defined!by!the!Statute!of!the!ICTY! ! ! ! ! ! 43!
2.3!! Crimes!against!Humanity!as!Defined!by!the!Statute!of!the!ICTR! ! ! ! ! ! 43!
2.4!! Crimes!against!Humanity!as!Defined!by!the!Statute!of!the!SCSL! ! ! ! ! ! 44!
2.5!! War!Crimes!as!Defined!by!the!Rome!Statute! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 48!
2.6!! War!Crimes!as!Defined!by!the!Statute!of!the!ICTY!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 51!
2.7!! War!Crimes!as!Defined!by!the!Statute!of!the!ICTR!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 52!
2.8!! War!Crimes!as!Defined!by!the!Statute!of!the!SCSL!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 53!
3.1!! Map!of!the!former!Yugoslavia! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 68!
3.2!! Map!of!Rwanda! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 70!
3.3!! Map!of!Sierra!Leone! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 72!
3.4!! Defendants!and!Case!Results!by!Tribunal! ! ! ! ! !!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! 74!
3.5! Proportions!of!Indictments!and!Convictions!by!Tribunal!and!Crime!Category! ! 74! !!!!!!!!!
3.6!! Average!Initial!and!After!Appeal!Sentence!by!Crime!Category! ! !!!!!!!!! ! ! 79!
3.7!! Average!Initial!Sentence!by!Crime!Category!and!Presence!of!Plea!Agreement! ! 81!
3.8! Average!Initial!Sentence!by!Crime!Category!and!Tribunal! ! ! ! ! ! ! 83! !
3.9! Average!Initial!Sentence!by!Criminal!Act!and!Crime!Category! ! ! ! ! ! 84! !
3.10! Average!Initial!and!After!Appeal!Sentence!by!Number!of!Guilty!Counts!! ! ! 85!
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Comparing*the*Severity**
of*International*Crime*
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Alixandra!Greenman!
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Abstract(
This!thesis!examines!the!relative!gravity!of!three!charges!commonly!seen!on!the!
international!stage.!!More!specifically,!this!thesis!asks:!Is*there*a*hierarchy*of*seriousness*
among*the*charges*of*genocide,*crimes*against*humanity*and*war*crimes?**And*if*a*hierarchy*
exists,*what*is*the*impact*on*the*sentences*that*have*been*handed*down*to*perpetrators*of*
these*crimes?!
To!answer!these!questions,!I!employ!a!mixedAmethods!approach.!!First,!I!examine!the!
international!treaties!and!statutes!that!define!these!charges!such!as!the!Geneva!
Conventions!of!1949!and!the!Rome!Statue!of!the!International!Criminal!Court!(1998).!
Next,!I!look!to!three!international!tribunals!as!examples!of!the!application!of!the!law.!
The!proceedings!I!examine!include!the!International!Criminal!Tribunals!for!the!former!
Yugoslavia!and!Rwanda!and!the!Special!Court!for!Sierra!Leone.!!Altogether,!I!content!
analyzed!122!cases!with!186!defendants,!which!helped!me!to!determine!whether!one!of!
these!categories!of!crime!is!perceived!as!more!serious!than!another!and!whether!this!
perception!has!affected!the!sentences!that!have!been!handed!down.!!!
Determining!whether!the!international!legal!system!has!effectively!created!a!ranking!of!
these!classifications,!this!thesis!has!tangible!implications.!!Understanding!the!seriousness!
of!these!crimes!is!critical!to!evaluating!the!consistency!of!past!sentencing!and!the!
application!of!future!sentences.!!Given!that!there!are!multiple!international!tribunals!(e.g.!
the!International!Criminal!Court,!the!Extraordinary!Chambers!in!the!Courts!of!Cambodia,!
the!Special!Tribunal!for!Lebanon,!and!the!new!hybrid!African!UnionASenegal!court)!and!
various!national!courts!hearing!international!criminal!law!cases,!this!project!will!aid!these!
courts!in!determining!appropriate!sentences!absent!any!significant!precedents!from!within!
their!own!jurisprudence!to!draw!upon.!
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Comparing*the*Severity*of*International*Crime*****2!
1( Is(There(a(Hierarchy(of(Seriousness?(
At!the!hands!of!the!Ottoman!Empire,!more!than!a!million!Armenians!were!killed!in!what!is!
now!referred!to!as!the!Armenian!Genocide.1!!The!Nazi!regime!under!the!direction!of!Adolf!
Hitler!killed!an!estimated!six!million!Jews,!200,000!Roma,!and!200,000!mentally!or!
physically!ill.2!!The!Hutus!slaughtered!an!estimated!800,000!Tutsis!in!the!Rwandan!
Genocide,!which!lasted!just!100!days.3!!At!least!140,000!people!lost!their!lives!in!the!
Yugoslav!Wars.4!!The!11Ayear!long!Sierra!Leone!Civil!War!left!approximately!50,000!dead.5!!
The!Cambodian!Khmer!Rouge!regime!is!responsible!for!the!deaths!of!at!least!1.7!million!
people.6!!The!War!in!Darfur!that!still!rages!on!after!nearly!11!years!has!resulted!in!the!
deaths!of!an!estimated!300,000!people!with!some!putting!the!number!even!higher.7!
All!these!conflicts!have!one!thing!in!common—they!resulted!from!the!atrocious!
behavior!of!people!with!an!abhorrent!and!incomprehensible!view!of!humanity.!!Regardless!
of!whether!their!crimes!amount!to!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity,!war!crimes,!some!
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1.!!“Q&A:!Armenian!Genocide!Dispute,”!BBC*News,!last!modified!March!5,!2010,!http://!
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6045182.stm.!
2.!!“Introduction!to!the!Holocaust,”!United!States!Holocaust!Memorial!Museum,!last!
modified!May!11,!2012,!http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/!
article.php?ModuleId=10005143#seealso.!
3.!!“Ghosts!of!Rwanda,”!Public*Broadcasting*Service,!April!1,!2004,!http://!www.pbs.org/!
wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ghosts/etc/crontext.html.!
4.!!“By!the!Numbers:!Syria!Deaths,”!Cable*News*Network,!April!2,!2013,!http://!
www.cnn.com/2013/01/08/world/meast/syriaAcivilAwarAcompare.!
5.!!“Factbox:!Sierra!Leone’s!Civil!War,”!Reuters,!January!8,!2008,!http://!
www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/08/usAwarcrimesAtaylorAwarA
idUSL066107120080108.!
6.!!“Cambodia!Profile,”!BBC*News,!March!17,!2013,!http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worldA
asiaApacificA13006828.!
7.!!“Darfur!Death!Toll!Rises!to!TwoAYear!High!in!Sudan,”!BBC*News,!June!7,!2010,!!
www.!bbc.co.uk/news/10259604.!

combination!of!the!three!or!any!of!the!other!acts!punishable!by!international!law,*they!
deserve!punishment!aligned!with!their!heinous!crimes.!
The!international!legal!system!was!created!to!hold!the!perpetrators!of!these!senseless!
atrocities!accountable!for!their!actions!and!more!generally,!maintain!order!in!the!world.!!
With!the!creation!of!this!system,!a!number!of!questions!were!raised,!some!of!which!remain!
unanswered.!!Stakeholders!in!the!international!legal!system!and!nations!around!the!world!
asked:!What*crimes*are*punishable*by*international*law?*What*factors*should*be*used*to*
determine*a*perpetrator’s*sentence?*What*is*an*appropriate*sentence*for*perpetrators*of*
these*horrendous*crimes?!Are*certain*crimes*more*serious*than*others?**The!last!of!these!
questions!remains!unanswered!despite!contentious!debate!over!the!past!halfAcentury.!!This!
debate!was!fascinating!and!reading!the!literature!on!this!topic!engaged!me!in!the!research!
effort!reported!upon!here.!
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A! The!Controversy!
The!question!of!the!relative!seriousness!of!the!crime!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity!
and!war!crimes!has!divided!the!international!community!for!more!than!half!a!century.8!
This!is!most!evident!at!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!the!former!Yugoslavia!
(ICTY).!!In!the!Prosecutor*v.*Tadić,!the!defendant,!Duško!Tadić,!was!convicted!at!the!ICTY!of!
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8.!!Andrea!Carcano,!“Sentencing!and!the!Gravity!of!the!Offence!in!International!Criminal!
Law,”!International*and*Comparative*Law*Quarterly!51!(2002):!604,!doi:!10.1093/iclg/!
51.3.583;!Micaela!Frulli,!“Are!Crimes!against!Humanity!More!Serious!than!War!Crimes?,”!
European*Journal*of*International*Law!12,!no.!2!(2001):!329,!doi:!10.1093/ejil/12.2.329.!

murder!and!inhuman!treatment.9!!Specifically,!Tadić!forced!civilians!into!detention!camps,!
beat!and!kicked!a!victim!until!he!was!unconscious,!threatened!one!victim!with!a!knife!and!
then!stabbed!him,!killed!two!Muslim!policemen!and!participated!in!the!killings!of!five!
others.!!He!was!sentenced!to!20!years!imprisonment.!!In!the!Tadić!case,!the!Trial!Chamber!
concluded!that!a!crime!against!humanity!is!indeed!more!serious!than!a!war!crime.!!It!was!
explained!in!this!way:!
A!prohibited!act!committed!as!part!of!a!crime!against!humanity,!that!is!with!
an!awareness!that!the!act!formed!part!of!a!widespread!or!systematic!attack!
on!a!civilian!population,!is,!all!else!being!equal,!a!more!serious!offence!than!
an!ordinary!war!crime.!!This!follows!from!the!requirement!that!crimes!
against!humanity!be!committed!on!a!widespread!or!systematic!scale,!the!
quantity!of!the!crimes!having!a!qualitative!impact!on!the!nature!of!the!
offence!which!is!seen!as!a!crime!against!more!than!just!the!victims!
themselves!but!against!humanity!as!a!whole.10!
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In!other!words,!it!is!the!requirement!that!crimes!against!humanity!be!committed!as!“part!of!
a!widespread!or!systematic!attack!on!a!civilian!population”!that!sets!it!apart!from!war!
crimes!and!the!crime!of!genocide.!!Regardless!of!the!context!in!which!the!crime!is!
committed,!crimes!against!humanity!must!have!a!deliberate!and!significant!impact!on!a!
particular!community.11!
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9.!!“Sentencing!Judgment!in!the!Prosecutor!v.!Tadić,”!International*Criminal*Tribunal*for*
the*former*Yugoslavia!(1999):!38,!http://www.icty.org/x/cases/tadic/tjug/en/tadA
tsj991111e.pdf.!
10.!!“Sentencing!Judgment!in!the!Prosecutor!v.!Tadić,”!37.!
11.!!Payam!Akhavan,!“Contributions!of!the!International!Criminal!Tribunals!for!the!
former!Yugoslavia!and!Rwanda!to!Development!of!Definitions!of!Crimes!against!Humanity!
and!Genocide,”!American*Society*of*International*Law!94!(2000):!282,!http://!
www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/25659412?uid=3739560&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256
&sid=21102192459101;!Simon!Chesterman,!“An!Altogether!Different!Order:!Defining!the!
Element!of!Crimes!against!Humanity,”!Duke*Journal*of*Comparative*and*International*Law!
10!(2000):!314,!http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/djcil/vol10/iss2/3/;!Allison!Marston!
Danner,!“Constructing!a!Hierarchy!of!Crimes!in!International!Criminal!Law!Sentencing,”!
Virginia*Law*Review!87,!no.!3!(2001):!458A459,!http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/!
papers.cfm?abstract_id=285268;!Frulli,!“Are!Crimes!against!Humanity!More!Serious!than!

Under!the!Rome!Statute!of!the!International!Criminal!Court!(ICC),12!which!was!adopted!
at!a!conference!in!1998,13!any!breach!of!the!Geneva!Conventions!of!1949!or!serious!
violation!of!the!international!laws!and!customs!guiding!periods!of!armed!conflict!
constitutes!a!war!crime.!!Examples!of!criminal!acts!under!the!category!of!war!crimes!
include,!but!are!not!limited!to!murder,!humiliating!or!degrading!treatment,!destruction!of!
property,!and!the!taking!of!hostages.14!!Criminal!acts!under!the!per!view!of!crimes!against!
humanity!include:!!
(a) Murder;!!
(b) Extermination;!!
(c) Enslavement;!!
(d) Deportation!or!forcible!transfer!of!a!population;!
(e) Imprisonment!or!other!severe!deprivation!of!physical!liberty!in!violation!
of!the!fundamental!rules!of!international!law;!
(f) Torture;!!
(g) Rape,!sexual!slavery,!enforced!prostitution,!forced!pregnancy,!enforced!
sterilization,!or!any!other!form!of!sexual!violence!of!comparable!gravity;!!
(h) Persecution!against!any!identifiable!group!or!collectivity!on!political!
racial,!national,!ethnic,!cultural,!religious,!gender!…!or!other!grounds!that!
are!universally!recognized!as!impermissible!under!international!law,!in!
connection!with!any!act!referred!to!in!this!paragraph!or!any!crime!within!
the!jurisdiction!of!the!Court;!!
(i) Enforced!disappearance!of!persons;!!
(j) The!crime!of!apartheid;!!
(k) Other!inhumane!acts!of!a!similar!character!intentionally!causing!great!
suffering!…!to!body!or!to!mental!or!physical!health.15!
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Clearly,!a!number!of!criminal!acts!are!classified!as!both!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!
crimes.!!However,!this!is!without!taking!into!account!the!distinction!between!these!two!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
War!Crimes?,”!333;!David!Luban,!“A!Theory!of!Crimes!against!Humanity,”!The*Yale*Journal*
of*International*Law!29,!(2004):!97,!http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/146/.!
12.!!“Rome!Statute!of!the!International!Criminal!Court,”!United*Nations!(1998),!http://!
untreaty.un.org/cod/icc/statute/english/rome_statute%28e%29.pdf.!
13.!!The!Rome!Statute!was!formally!adopted!on!July!17,!1998;!it!entered!into!force!on!
July!1,!2002!when!it!was!ratified!by!60!countries.!
14.!!United!Nations,!“Rome!Statute,”!4.!
15.!!Ibid.,!3A5.!

categories!of!crime!that!was!mentioned!in!the!Tadić!case.!!An!offence!that!is!labeled!a!crime!
against!humanity!must!have!a!profound!effect!on!a!community!at!large.!!What’s!more!is!
that!war!crimes!are!always!committed!as!an!act!of!war.!!This!is!not!necessarily!the!case!of!
all!crimes!against!humanity.!!Thus,!it’s!not!just!the!context!that!distinguishes!a!crime!
against!humanity!from!a!war!crime!but!also!the!impact!of!the!crime!on!the!community!
where!it!is!committed.!
Clearly,!there!is!some!overlap!between!these!definitions.!!But!while!some!criminal!acts!
may!be!the!same,!they!tend!to!be!perpetrated!during!different!circumstances.!!This!is!
especially!true!when!it!comes!to!the!crime!of!genocide.!!The!standard!for!genocide!seems!to!
be!completely!different.!!For!the!purposes!of!the!ICC,!the!crime!of!genocide!is!an!offence!
committed!with!the!intent!to!destroy,!in!whole!or!in!part,!a!group!simply!because!of!the!
race,!nationality,!ethnicity,!or!religion!its!members!share.!!Criminal!acts!under!the!per!view!
of!genocide!include!murder,!causing!serious!bodily!or!mental!harm!to!members!of!the!
group,!imposing!measures!intended!to!prevent!births!within!the!group,!and!forcibly!
transferring!children!of!the!group.16!!Some!genocide!scholars!argue!that!this!definition!of!
genocide!and!the!one!laid!out!in!the!United!Nations!Convention!on!the!Prevention!and!
Punishment!of!the!Crime!of!Genocide!(UNCG)!is!“unduly!narrow.”17!!Apparently,!Rafael!
Lemkin,!the!man!who!coined!the!term!“genocide,”!favored!a!much!broader!definition!than!
the!one!that!was!ultimately!adopted!by!the!ICC!and!the!United!Nations!(UN).!!Lemkin!
wanted!the!UN’s!list!of!genocidal!acts!“to!include!forced!exile!and!population!displacement!
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16.!!Ibid.,!4A5.!
17.!!Hannibal!Travis,!“On!the!Original!Understanding!of!the!Crime!of!Genocide,”!
Genocide*Studies*and*Prevention!7,!no.!1!(2012):!30,!doi:!10.1353/gsp.2012.0007.!

(i.e.,!ethnic!cleansing)!and!the!deliberate!destruction!of!a!cultural!heritage.”18!!Scholar!
Hannibal!Travis!believes!that!the!legal!definition!of!genocide!“rests!upon!incomplete!and!
selective!references!to!legal!sources!with!misleading!implications”!that!are!apparent!during!
debates!about!whether!or!not!crimes!such!as!ethnic!cleansing!constitute!genocide.19!
Surely,!all!three!of!these!categories!of!crime!are!serious.!!But!looking!strictly!at!their!
definitions,!one!gets!an!intuitive!sense!that!war!crimes!are!easier!to!prove.!!This!reason!
alone!might!suggest!that!they!are!less!serious!than!crimes!against!humanity!and!the!crime!
of!genocide.!!War!crimes!are!indeed!serious!offences,!but!many!perpetrators!of!these!
crimes!try!to!justify!the!criminal!acts!they!committed!by!claiming!that!they!were!not!
premeditated!but!merely!a!part!of!war.!!A!perpetrator!of!genocide!or!a!crime!against!
humanity,!on!the!other!hand,!can!make!no!such!claim!since!these!acts!require!intent!to!
commit!a!more!widespread!attack!against!a!particular!group!or!community.!!In!addition,!
crimes!against!humanity!and!the!crime!of!genocide!are!not!always!committed!during!
wartime,!which!means!that!the!perpetrator!cannot!just!explain!them!away.!
In!addition!to!disagreement!over!the!similarities!between!these!three!definitions!and!
the!seemingly!limited!scope!of!the!crime!of!genocide,!some!argue!that!determining!the!
severity!of!the!three!is!insignificant!considering!the!fact!that!all!international!crimes!are!
indeed!serious!offences.!!Still,!there!is!a!wellAdocumented!dialogue!concerning!this!topic!
going!back!to!the!first!use!of!the!charge!of!crimes!against!humanity!at!the!International!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
18.!!Marko!Attila!Hoare,!“A!Case!Study!in!Underachievement:!The!International!Courts!
and!Genocide!in!BosniaAHerzegovina,”!Genocide*Studies*and*Prevention!6,!no.!1!(2011):!89,!
doi:!10.1353/gsp.2011.0109.!
19.!!Travis,!“Original!Understanding!of!Genocide,”!30.!

Military!Tribunal!(IMT)!at!Nuremberg,20!which!is!also!the!first!time!in!history!that!an!
international!entity!acknowledged!that!individuals!can!be!punished!for!violating!
international!law.21!!This!indicates!the!need!for!further!study!of!these!three!categories!of!
international!crime!and!their!relative!seriousness.!!In!fact,!the!statement!released!by!the!
Trial!Chamber!in!the!Tadić*case,!quoted!earlier,!represents!the!debate!that!continues!today!
among!judges!and!other!key!international!players.!!Judge!Shahabuddeen!and!Judge!
Cassese’s!separate!opinions,!which!were!delivered!at!the!close!of!Tadić’s!appeal,!provide!a!
synopsis!of!the!debate,!serving!as!an!ideal!starting!point!for!this!research!despite!the!fact!
that!Judge!Shahabuddeen!and!Judge!Cassese!only!address!the!relation!between!crimes!
against!humanity!and!war!crimes!leaving!out!the!crime!of!genocide.!!Agreeing!with!the!
majority!view,!Judge!Shahabuddeen!maintains!that!there!is!no!reason!to!conclude!that!a!
crime!against!humanity!is!a!more!serious!offence!than!a!war!crime!and!that!there!should!be!
no!distinction!between!them!when!sentencing.22!!Judge!Cassese,!on!the!other!hand,!believes!
that!“whenever!an!offence!committed!by!an!accused!is!deemed!to!be!a!crime!against!
humanity,!it!must!be!regarded!as!inherently!of!greater!gravity,*all!else!being!equal*(ceteris*
paribus),*than!if!it!is!instead!characterised!as!a!war!crime.!!Consequently,!it!must!entail!a!
heavier!penalty.”23!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
20.!!The!Nuremberg!Trials!were!set!up!by!the!Allied!powers!to!try!those!responsible!for!
the!criminal!acts!committed!before!and!during!World!War!II.!!They!began!in!November!
1945—just!six!and!a!half!months!after!Germany!surrendered.!
21.!!Carcano,!“Sentencing!and!the!Gravity!of!the!Offence,”!584;!Danner,!“Constructing!a!
Hierarchy,”!417;!Frulli,!“Are!Crimes!against!Humanity!More!Serious!than!War!Crimes?,”!
343;!Luban,!“A!Theory!of!Crimes!against!Humanity,”!87.!
22.!!“Judgment!in!Sentencing!Appeals!in!the!Prosecutor!v.!Tadić,”!International*Criminal*
Tribunal*for*the*former*Yugoslavia!(2000):!35A49,!http://www.icty.org/x/cases/tadic/!
acjug/en/tadAasj000126e.pdf.!
23.!!Ibid.,!55.!

Judge!Shahabuddeen!and!Judge!Cassese’s!separate!opinions!do!not!represent!the!first!
time!that!judges!have!formally!disagreed!with!each!other!in!connection!with!these!two!
charges.!!In!Prosecutor*v.*Erdemović,!for!example,!the!holding!of!the!majority,!which!is!
explained!in!Judge!McDonald!and!Judge!Vohrah’s!joint!separate!opinion,!was!that!an!
offense!that!is!considered!to!be!a!crime!against!humanity!is!more!serious!and!should!
normally!carry!a!more!severe!penalty!than!if!it!were!branded!a!war!crime.24!!The!defendant!
in!this!case,!Erdemović,!was!convicted!and!sentenced!to!5!years.!!Specifically,!Erdemović!
personally!killed!about!70!people!and!participated!in!the!shooting!and!killing!of!hundreds!
of!unarmed!Bosnian!Muslim!men.!!Citing!the!Tadić!“Opinion!and!Judgment,”!Judges!
McDonald!and!Vohrah!state!that!because!crimes!against!humanity!are!directed!against!a!
particular!group!or!community,!they!are!fundamentally!different!than!war!crimes.25!!In!
other!words,!since!crimes!against!humanity!are!offences!that!have!massive!consequences!
for!specific!groups!of!people,!they!are!inherently!more!severe!offences!than!war!crimes.!!!
In!the!Erdemović!case,!Judge!Cassese!and!Judge!Stephen!concur!with!the!majority,!but!
Judge!Li!dissents!articulating!the!complete!opposite.!!Judge!Li!states:!!
The!gravity!of!a!criminal!act,!and!consequently!the!seriousness!of!its!
punishment,!are!determined!by!the!intrinsic!nature!of!the!act!itself!and!not!
by!the!classification!under!one!category!or!another.!!Take!the!present!case:!
the!Appellant!killed!seventy!to!one!hundred!innocent!Muslim!civilians.!!
Whether!his!criminal!act!is!classified!under!crimes!against!humanity!or!war!
crimes,!the!harm!done!to!individuals!and!society!is!exactly!the!same,!neither!
an!iota!more!nor!less.26!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
24.!!“Joint!Separate!Opinion!of!Judge!McDonald!and!Judge!Vohrah!in!the!Prosecutor!v.!
Erdemović,”!International*Criminal*Tribunal*for*the*former*Yugoslavia!(1997),!http://!
www.icty.org/x/cases/erdemovic/acjug/!en/erdAasojmcd971007e.pdf.!
25.!!Ibid.!
26.!!“Separate!and!Dissenting!Opinion!of!Judge!Li!in!the!Prosecutor!v.!Erdemović,”!
International*Criminal*Tribunal*for*the*former*Yugoslavia!(1997):!para.!19,!http://!
www.icty.org/x/cases/erdemovic/acjug/en/erdAasojli971007e.pdf.!

In!other!words,!Judge!Li!is!of!the!opinion!that!two!things!should!determine!the!seriousness!
of!a!criminal!act:!(1)!the!crime!that!was!committed!and!(2)!the!circumstances!surrounding!
the!defendant’s!actions.!!Thus,!a!crime!should!not!carry!a!longer!sentence!merely!because!it!
is!branded!genocide!or!a!crime!against!humanity!as!opposed!to!a!war!crime.!!In!Judge!Li’s!
view,!these!two!factors!should!be!the!only!ones!used!to!determine!a!perpetrator’s!sentence.!!
In!addition!to!using!the!Erdemović!case!as!an!example,!Judge!Li!cites!the!Statute!of!the!ICTY,!
the!Charter!of!the!IMT!at!Nuremberg,!the!U.S.!War!Crimes!Act!of!1996!as!well!as!other!
international!and!national!statutes!in!an!effort!to!prove!that!a!crime!against!humanity!is!not!
more!serious!than!a!war!crime.!
Adding!to!the!division!concerning!the!severity!of!the!charges!of!genocide,!crimes!
against!humanity,!and!war!crimes!is!the!persistent!dialogue!that!has!taken!place!since!the!
establishment!of!the!charge!of!crimes!against!humanity!following!the!atrocities!of!World!
War!II.!!One!reason!for!the!latter!of!these!controversies!is!that!crimes!charged!at!
Nuremberg!and!at!the!International!Military!Tribunal!for!the!Far!East!(IMTFE)!might!easily!
have!fallen!into!the!alreadyAaccepted!category!of!war!crimes.!!This!is!at!least!partially!
because!the!Nuremberg!Trials!covered!charges!that!took!place!during!an!act!of!war.!!Still!
the!distinction!was!made!because!some!of!the!criminal!acts!were!perpetrated!against!
whole!populations!before!any!act!of!war!was!documented.!!Also,!the!acts!were!committed!
against!civilians!and!not!combatants,!prisoners!of!war,!and!other!wartime!stakeholders.!
Judge!Li!actually!addresses!this!point!in!his!Separate!and!Dissenting!Opinion!on!the!
Erdemović!case.!!Briefly!discussing!the!origins!of!the!charge!of!crimes!against!humanity,!
Judge!Li!argues!that!there!are!no!significant!differences!between!the!two!charges.!!Rather,!
they!overlap!significantly!and!although!the!definitions!have!created!distinctions!between!

them,!they!are!essentially!the!same!and!thus!deserve!the!same!punishment!under!
international!law.!!He!says:!!
Prior!to!the!Second!World!War,!there!were!in!international!law!only!war!
crimes!and!no!crimes!against!humanity!…!But,![since]!before!and!during!that!
war,!the!Nazi!regime!…!committed!many!horrendous!atrocities!against!its!
own!nationals![not!considered!war!crimes!at!the!time!but]!...!so!shocking!to!
the!conscience!of!mankind!that!the!Allied!Governments!were!determined!to!
punish!the!offenders!…!Hence!Article!6(c)!…!provides!that!‘murder,!
extermination,!enslavement,!deportation!and!other!inhumane!acts!
committed!against!any!civilian!population!before!or!during!the!war,!or!
persecution!on!political,!racial!or!religious!grounds’!…!constitute!crimes!
against!humanity.27!
!
Judge!Li!explains!the!establishment!of!the!charge!of!crimes!against!humanity!being!careful!
not!to!express!a!distinction!in!its!severity.!!In!fact,!he!goes!on!to!state!emphatically,!“that!
the!Charter,!in!providing!for!crimes!against!humanity,!does!not!create!a!crime!more!serious!
than!a!war!crime.”28!!Perhaps!Judge!Li!would!have!been!more!comfortable!with!an!
expansion!of!the!definition!of!war!crimes!instead!of!a!new!charge!altogether.!!!!
Others!argue!that!distinguishing!certain!criminal!acts!committed!with!the!intention!of!
hurting!whole!groups!of!people!as!crimes!against!humanity!is!appropriate.!!Some!scholars!
also!maintain!that!the!creation!of!the!category!of!crimes!against!humanity!following!World!
War!II!should!not!have!come!as!such!a!surprise!since!the!term!was!used!decades!earlier!by!
France,!Great!Britain,!and!Russia!with!respect!to!atrocities!committed!by!the!Turks!against!
their!own!Armenian!population!in!1915.!!!!
Regardless!of!which!side!of!the!dialogue!your!view!falls,!the!charge!of!crimes!against!
humanity!is!still!in!use!today!and!still!applied!in!the!most!serious!of!international!criminal!
proceedings.!!It!is!crucial!to!understand!not!only!the!charge!of!crimes!against!humanity!but!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
27.!!Ibid.,!para.!21.!
28.!!Ibid.,!para.!21.!

the!charges!of!genocide!and!war!crimes!as!well.!!With!an!understanding!of!these!three!
charges!and!how!they!relate!to!each!other!in!terms!of!severity!comes!the!likelihood!that!
international!law!will!be!enforced!more!consistently!in!the!future.!!This!understanding!is!
also!paramount!to!grasping!the!purpose!of!the!international!legal!system!as!a!whole.!
Accordingly,!this!thesis!asks:!Is*there*a*hierarchy*of*seriousness*among*the*charges*of*
genocide,*crimes*against*humanity*and*war*crimes?**And*if*a*hierarchy*exists,*what*is*its*
impact*on*the*sentences*that*have*been*handed*down*to*perpetrators*of*these*crimes?!
Before!addressing!these!questions,!I!review!the!relevant!literature.!!Frulli’s!study!
entitled,!“Are!Crimes!against!Humanity!More!Serious!than!War!Crimes?”—was!the!starting!
point!of!this!endeavor.!!That!work!begins!to!answer!the!questions!asked!here!and!thus!it!
became!an!induction!into!this!work.!!Next!came!the!workings!of!other!scholars!of!
international!law.!!Ultimately,!the!literature!is!divided!into!two!sections:!“Sentencing:!Its!
Consistency!and!What!It!Says!About!Crime!Severity”!and!“The!Legal!Features!of!
International!Crimes.”!!At!the!conclusion!of!the!literature!review,!I!address!what!questions!
researchers!still!need!to!address.!
!
B! Review!of!the!Literature!
This!thesis!endeavors!to!determine!whether!a!hierarchy!of!seriousness!exists!and!if!so,!
what!effect!it!had!on!the!sentences!that!have!been!handed!down!to!perpetrators!of!
genocide,!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes.!!This!interest!led!to!a!review!of!
scholarly!works!on!international!sentencing,!the!severity!of!international!crimes!and!the!
literature!that!set!out!simply!to!define!those!crimes.!!In!addition!to!providing!ideas!on!how!
to!formulate!this!study,!this!breadth!of!literature!provided!a!framework!of!what!questions!

remain!unanswered!or!are!in!need!of!further!explanation!in!the!field!of!international!law.!!
In!this!respect,!Frulli’s!piece!was!particularly!helpful!because!it!addresses!a!very!similar!
question!to!those!asked!in!this!thesis.!
Frulli!answered!his!question!by!looking!both!at!the!law,!as!written,!and!how!it!has!been!
applied—an!essential!component!to!the!study!of!this!topic.!!Appropriately,!I!used!Frulli’s!
research!as!a!starting!point!in!my!effort!to!determine!whether!or!not!there!is!an!inherent!
hierarchy!of!seriousness!among!the!charges!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!
crimes.!
Frulli!takes!a!twofold!approach!looking,!first,!at!international!law!and,!second,!at!three!
national!cases!and!at!case!law!from!two!ad*hoc!tribunals.!!In!the!first!part!of!his!work,!Frulli!
looks!to!the!International!Law!Commission!(ILC)’s!Draft!Code!of!Crimes!against!the!Peace!
and!Security!of!Mankind!and!the!Rome!Statute.!!He!splits!his!analysis!of!crimes!against!
humanity!and!war!crimes!into!two!pieces,!which!he!refers!to!as!the!contextual!element!and!
the!mental!element.!!In!the!first!of!these!sections,!Frulli!explains!that!the!“circumstances!in!
which!a!crime!is!committed!are!crucial!to!determining!the!gravity!of!the!crime!itself.”29!!In!
the!case!of!crimes!against!humanity,!the!criminal!act!can!be!committed!either!during!a!time!
of!war!or!peace,!but!always!in!the!context!of!a!pervasive!attack!directed!against!a!specific!
civilian!group.!!In!other!words,!the!contextual!element!of!all!crimes!against!humanity!is!the!
requirement!that!the!actus*reus!(or!the!act!itself)!be!carried!out!against!a!distinguishable!
group!of!people!on!a!large!scale.!!In!the!case!of!war!crimes,!the!criminal!conduct!is!carried!
out!in!the!context!of!an!armed!conflict,!so!the!actus*reus!is!contingent!upon!it!being!carried!
out!as!an!act!of!war.!!According!to!Frulli,!the!contextual!differences!between!crimes!against!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
29.!!Frulli,!“Are!Crimes!against!Humanity!More!Serious!than!War!Crimes?,”!333A34.!

humanity!and!war!crimes!written!into!the!law!imply!that!crimes!against!humanity!are!
more!severe!acts!than!war!crimes.!!
Frulli!then!turns!his!sights!to!the!mental!element!of!crime,!which!he!says!is!the!only!
element!besides!the!contextual!one!that!ought!“to!be!considered!as!influencing!the!gravity!
of!a!criminal!act.”30!!Implying!that!the!mens*rea—a!person's!awareness!of!the!fact!that!his!
or!her!conduct!is!criminal—of!a!crime!against!humanity!is!different!than!that!of!a!war!
crime,!Frulli!discusses!the!ILC’s!Draft!Code!and!the!Rome!Statute.!!He!says:!“The!1996!ILC!
Draft!Code!proves!useful!…!provid[ing]!that,!together!with!the!circumstances!in!which!…![a]!
crime!is!committed,!the!gravity!of!a!crime!may!be!inferred!from!the!feelings!which!impelled!
the!author.”31!!In!other!words,!knowing!the!intent!of!the!perpetrator!of!a!criminal!act!is!
crucial!to!determining!the!severity!of!his/her!crime.!!To!explain!this,!Frulli!compares!the!
mental!element!of!crimes!against!humanity!with!genocide.!!In!the!case!of!crimes!against!
humanity,!the!accused!must!have!intended!to!commit!a!crime!and!been!aware!that!his/her!
crime!is!a!part!of!a!widespread!attack!against!a!specific!community.!!The!mens*rea!required!
of!someone!accused!of!genocide!goes!a!step!further!requiring!the!perpetrator!to!be!part!of!
a!plan!to!destroy!a!group!of!people!on!discriminatory!grounds.32!!Morphing!his!conclusion!
slightly,!Frulli!claims!that!not!only!is!a!!crime!against!humanity!more!serious!than!a!war!
crime,!but!also!that!the!crime!of!genocide!is!more!serious!than!a!crime!against!humanity!
because!of!its!discriminatory!component.!!!!!
In!the!second!part!of!his!work,!Frulli!looks!at!three!national!trials!(Albrecht,!Barbie,!and!
Eichmann)!and!case!law!from!two!ad*hoc!courts.!!Frulli!argues!that!there!has!been!judicial!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
30.!!Ibid.,!336.!
31.!!Ibid.,!336.!
32.!!Ibid.,!336.!

recognition!at!both!the!domestic!and!international!levels!that!crimes!against!humanity!are!
more!serious!than!war!crimes.33!!He!asserts!that!a!difference!in!the!severity!of!crimes!
against!humanity!and!war!crimes!is!“reflected!in!several!domestic!penal!provisions!and!in!
some!of!the!sentencing!and!determination!of!penalties!and!procedures!adopted!by!national!
and!international!courts.”34!!In!Frulli’s!view,!domestic!legislation!as!well!as!the!Albrecht,!
Barbie,!and!Eichmann!trials!prove!that!a!crime!against!humanity!is!more!serious!than!a!war!
crime.!
Frulli!also!looks!at!the!decisions!made!in!four!cases:!Tadić,!Erdemović,!Akayesu,!and!
Kambanda.!!Here,!Frulli!argues!that!the!judges!in!these!cases!were!inconsistent!in!their!
sentencing.!!At!first,!the!court!was!harsher!in!its!sentencing!of!defendants!found!guilty!of!
crimes!against!humanity.!!Later,!however,!the!same!judges!rendered!decisions!that!seem!to!
indicate!that!the!same!acts,!no!matter!how!they!are!classified,!deserve!the!same!
punishment.!
A!central!problem!with!Frulli’s!analysis!is!the!number!of!cases!he!examines!both!at!the!
domestic!and!international!levels.!!The!small!number!of!cases!Frulli!considers!run!the!risk!
of!being!unrepresentative!given!that!the!number!of!cases!now!available!for!review!is!well!
over!100.!!My!work!will!build!on!Frulli’s!study!and!include!a!more!statistically!significant!
analysis!of!international!case!law.!!Beyond!Frulli’s!work,!there!are!two!other!important!
areas!of!scholarly!literature!divided!into!two!sections:!“Sentencing:!Its!Consistency!and!
What!It!Says!About!Crime!Severity”!and!“Defining!the!Categories!of!International!Crime.”!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
33.!!Ibid.,!346.!
34.!!Ibid.,!349.!

I! Sentencing:!Its!Consistency!and!What!It!Says!About!Crime!Severity!
Criticized!by!some!scholars!as!inconsistent,!sentencing!at!international!tribunals!is!
purportedly!based!on!two!factors:!the!severity!of!the!perpetrator’s!crime(s)!and!the!
individual!circumstances!of!the!accused.35!!According!to!Carcano,!two!factors!determine!the!
seriousness!of!an!offence:!the!amount!of!harm!caused!by!the!offender!and!the!offender’s!
culpability!in!the!crime.36!!Beyond!this!bit!of!information,!the!criteria!for!determining!a!
convict’s!sentence!is!not!defined.!!Judges!are!given!a!tremendous!amount!of!discretion!to!
see!that!justice!is!done.37!!Most!of!the!international!charters!governing!ad*hoc!courts!are!
vague.!!The!only!limitation!placed!on!judges!is!that!they!cannot!sentence!a!defendant!to!
death.!!They!simply!stipulate!that!the!punishment!must!be!just,!but!no!definition!of!just!is!
given.!!Because!judicial!fairness!requires!that!judges!are!consistent!across!cases!and!even!
tribunals,!researchers!analyze!the!decisions!that!have!been!made!at!these!ad*hoc!courts!at!
regular!intervals.38!
The!first!work!that!falls!into!this!group!of!literature!was!published!in!2012.!!Using!a!
multiple!regression!analysis!to!study!sentencing!at!the!ICTY!and!the!ICTR,!authors!Barbora!
Holá,!Catrien!Bijleveld,!and!Alette!Smeulers!argue!that!there!is!no!indication!that!
international!sentencing!is!any!less!erratic!then!sentencing!at!the!domestic!level.39!!Holá,!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
35.!!Carcano,!“Sentencing!and!the!Gravity!of!the!Offence,”!588A89;!Barbora!Holá,!Catrien!
Bijleveld,!and!Alette!Smeulers,!“Consistency!of!International!Sentencing:!ICTY!and!ICTR!
Case!Study,”!European*Journal*of*Criminology!9,!no.!5!(2012):!540A41;!James!Meernik,!
“Victor’s!Justice!or!the!Law?:!Judging!and!Punishing!at!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!
for!the!former!Yugoslavia,”!The*Journal*of*Conflict*Resolution!47,!no.!2!(2003):!150.!
36.!!Carcano,!“Sentencing!and!the!Gravity!of!the!Offence,”!589.!
37.!!Carcano,!“Sentencing!and!the!Gravity!of!the!Offence,”!583,!588;!Meernik,!“Victor’s!
Justice!or!the!Law?,”!143.!
39.!!Holá!et.!al.,!“Consistency!of!International!Sentencing,”!539.!

Bijleveld,!and!Smeulers’!analyzed!all!ICTY/ICTR!cases,!completed!by!May!2010,!that!
resulted!in!a!conviction.!!
For!each!defendant,!the!following!data!was!collected:!the!category!of!crime,!number!of!
guilty!counts,!mode!of!responsibility!(or!the!manner!in!which!the!accused!participated!in!
the!crime),!number!of!mitigating!factors,!number!of!aggravating!factors,!and!rank!in!the!
military.40!!The!dependent!variable!is!the!sentence!handed!down!to!each!defendant,!
measured!in!years.41!!In!order!to!include!those!sentenced!to!life!imprisonment,!the!authors!
recorded!‘life’!as!55!years—a!number!reflecting!the!average!time!an!ICTY/ICTR!defendant!
is!predicted!to!spend!in!prison.!!The!independent!variables!are!the!two!main!factors!that!
reportedly!determine!a!convict’s!sentence:!the!seriousness!of!the!crime!(category!of!crime,!
number!of!counts,!aggravating!factors,!mode!of!liability,!and!rank)!and!the!individual!
circumstances!of!the!accused!(mitigating!factors!such!as!whether!or!not!the!defendant!
provided!assistance!to!his/her!victims!or!the!family!circumstances!of!the!defendant).!!!
Holá,!Bijleveld,!and!Smeulers!analyzed!111!cases!of!defendants!sentenced!at!the!ICTY!
and!the!ICTR.42!!They!found!no!reason!to!conclude!that!the!sentencing!at!the!ICTY!and!the!
ICTR!is!inconsistent.!!In!fact,!they!actually!discovered!that!when!a!defendant!is!convicted!of!
genocide,!his/her!sentence!is!increased!by!about!16!years.!!According!to!Holá,!Bijleveld,!
and!Smeulers,!“genocide!is!…!treated!as!the!crime!of!crimes.”43!!Furthermore,!the!authors!of!
the!study!found!that!ICTY/ICTR!judges!see!the!categories!of!international!crime!as!ordered!
“hierarchically!…!with!genocide!at!the!top!of!the!seriousness!scale!followed!by!crimes!
against!humanity.”!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
40.!!Ibid.,!542A45.!
41.!!Ibid.,!542.!
42.!!Ibid.,!545.!
43.!!Ibid.,!546.!

Another!significant!work!on!international!sentencing!is!scholar!James!Meernik’s!
“Victor’s!Justice!or!the!Law?:!Judging!and!Punishing!at!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!
for!the!former!Yugoslavia.”44!!Similarly!to!Holá,!Bijleveld,!and!Smeulers,!Meernik!assesses!
the!consistency!of!sentencing!at!the!ICTY!using!a!statistical!model.!!He!does!this!by!looking!
at!the!establishment!and!use!of!fair!criteria!in!judging!instead!of!the!actual!sentences.!!
Instead!of!analyzing!the!sentencing!judgments,!Meernik!predicts!the!verdict!in!each!
case!after!determining!(1)!the!expertise!of!the!case’s!attorneys,!(2)!the!ethnicity!of!the!
accused,!(3)!the!number!of!witnesses!called!to!testify,!(4)!the!number!of!judges!from!NATO!
nations,!(5)!whether!the!arrest!was!made!by!the!NATOAled!Stabilization!Force,!(6)!the!
gravity!of!the!crime!committed!by!the!accused,!and!(7)!the!individual’s!level!of!
responsibility.45!!Meernik!then!uses!a!statistical!analysis!to!estimate!the!sentence!each!
defendant!will!receive.!!
Meernik!concludes!from!his!analysis!that!judges!use!“widely!accepted!legal!criteria!
found!in!key!international!agreements”!to!make!their!decisions.46!!Meernik!also!concludes!
that!those!defendants!who!are!“found!guilty!of!the!worst!crimes,!those!who!were!convicted!
of!the!most!offenses,!and!those!with!the!most!responsibility!for!crimes!…!pay!the!highest!
price.”!!Meernik!does!not!draw!a!conclusion!about!the!hierarchy!of!seriousness!among!
international!crime!per!se.!!However,!he!does!say!that!defendants!who!are!found!guilty!of!
“the!worst!offences!receive!lengthier!sentences!than!those!convicted!of!lesser!crimes.”47!
Although!Meernik’s!study!is!largely!comprehensive,!there!are!still!gaps.!!His!methods!
are!a!little!vague.!!It!is!difficult!to!see!a!clear!path!to!his!conclusions!that!judges!base!their!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
44.!!Meernik,!“Victor’s!Justice!or!the!Law?,”!140A62.!
45.!!Ibid.,!152.!
46.!!Ibid.,!159.!
47.!!Ibid.,!157.!

decisions!on!fair!criteria!and!that!defendants!who!commit!the!most!serious!crimes!receive!
the!longest!sentences.!!Thus!readers!are!cautioned!not!to!be!persuaded!only!by!Meernik’s!
analysis.!
The!next!significant!piece!of!literature!on!sentencing!is!scholar!Andrea!Carcano’s!
“Sentencing!and!the!Gravity!of!the!Offence!in!International!Criminal!Law.”48!!Ultimately!
finding!that!“differences!between!international!crimes!can!be!identified,”!Carcano!looks!at!
case!law!from!the!Nuremberg!Trials!(both!the!international!tribunal!and!the!series!of!U.S.!
cases!following!it),!the!ICTY,!and!the!ICTR.49!
Carcano!starts!by!looking!at!Nuremberg!arguing!that!because!of!how!new!the!charge!of!
crimes!against!humanity!was!to!the!international!stage,!at!the!time,!no!distinction!can!be!
made!between!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes.50!!According!to!Carcano,!the!
charge!of!crimes!against!humanity!was!added!to!the!Nuremberg!Charter!to!give!the!Allied!
Powers!the!ability!to!try!Nazis!for!the!crimes!they!committed!against!German!citizens!well!
before!World!War!II!began.!!Carcano!says:!“The!introduction!of!crimes!against!humanity!
was!…!meant!to!provide!the!IMT!with!a!tool!for!prosecuting!the!Germans!for!the!
extermination,!persecution!and!killing!of!German!Jews!who!were,!as!Germans,!outside!the!
protection!of!the!laws!of!war.”51!!From!his!review!of!Nuremberg!case!law,!Carcano!
concludes!that!the!judges!at!Nuremberg!by!and!large!treated!crimes!against!humanity!and!
war!crimes!as!the!same!thing.52!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
48.!!Carcano,!“Sentencing!and!the!Gravity!of!the!Offence,”!583A609.!
49.!!Ibid.,!609.!
50.!!Ibid.,!595.!
51.!!Ibid.,!595.!
52.!!Ibid.,!596.!

Carcano!then!discusses!the!series!of!U.S.!trials!that!followed!the!IMT.!!From!1947!to!
1949,!177!defendants!in!12!trials!were!tried!in!six!American!military!courts.!!According!to!
Carcano,!Control!Council!Law!No.!10,!which!governed!these!trials,!helped!to!solidify!crimes!
against!humanity!as!a!separate!legal!concept.53!!In!his!effort!to!illustrate!this,!Carcano!
details!five!of!the!12!cases!explaining!the!charges!that!were!brought!against!the!defendants,!
the!verdict,!the!sentence,!and!how!the!case!changed!the!international!community’s!attitude!
of!crimes!against!humanity.!!In!his!conclusion!of!this!section,!Carcano!stresses!that!the!
differences!between!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes!are!much!more!apparent!
today!than!they!were!during!the!Nuremberg!Trials.!!!
Carcano’s!focus!then!shifts!turns!to!the!ICTR.!!Here,!his!objective!is!to!show!the!shift!in!
dialogue!concerning!crimes!against!humanity!that!took!place!in!the!halfAcentury!between!
Nuremberg!and!the!Rwandan!Genocide.!!Acknowledging!that!the!distinction!between!
crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes!was!not!heavily!discussed!at!the!ICTR,!Carcano!
discusses!five!pivotal!cases54!and!their!contribution!to!the!development!of!a!hierarchy!of!
international!crimes.55!!Carcano!pays!special!attention!to!Prosecutor*v.*Omar*Serushago.!!In!
this!case,!the!Court!found!Serushago!guilty!and!sentenced!him!to!15!years!imprisonment.!!
In!its!judgment,!the!Trial!Chamber!stated!that!genocide!is!the!“crime!of!crimes,”!but!that!it!
is!tough!to!compare!its!gravity!with!crimes!against!humanity!because!both!are!serious!
offences.56!!According!to!Carcano,!this!opinion!was!pretty!much!indicative!of!the!entire!
tribunal.!!Judges!and!prosecutors!alike!felt!that!because!“the!notion!of!war!crimes!…![is]!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
53.!!Ibid.,!596.!
54.!!These!include:!Prosecutor*v.*Jean*Kambanda,!Prosecutor*v.*Jean*Paul*Akayesu,!
Prosecutor*v.*Clement*Kayishema*and*Obed*Ruzindana,!Prosecutor*v.*Omar*Serushago,!and!
Prosecutor*v.*Georges*Anderson*Nderubumwe*Rutaganda.!
55.!!Carcano,!“Sentencing!and!the!Gravity!of!the!Offence,”!600A02.!
56.!!Ibid.,!602.!

difficult!to!apply!in!the!context!of!the!Rwandan!genocide,”!it!is!hard!to!determine!whether!
there!is!an!inherent!ranking!of!the!most!heinous!violations!of!international!law.57!!!!!!
Carcano!then!discusses!ICTY!case!law!explaining!that!unlike!the!ICTR,!the!ICTY!
compared!the!seriousness!of!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes!extensively.!!It!also!
weighed!in!on!the!seriousness!of!genocide,!but!not!until!2001!in!the!Prosecutor*v.!Krstić.!!In!
addition!to!discussing!the!Krstić!case,!Carcano!discusses!the!judgments!rendered!in!the!
Erdemović,!Furundžija,!Kordič,!Krstić,!Kunarac,!and!Tadić!cases!explaining!the!differences!
between!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes!according!to!ICTY!judges.!!Carcano!first!
discusses!Judge!Vohrah’s!opinion.!!In!Furundžija,!he!argued:!
While!all!crimes!cannot!be!placed!on!a!continuum!of!seriousness!or!within!a!
hierarchy!of!gravity,!there!are!certain!crimes!that!will!always!be!regarded!as!the!
worst!crimes!it!is!possible!to!commit,!and!these!include!genocide!and!crimes!against!
humanity.!These!crimes!are!considered!the!“crime!of!crimes”!primarily!because!they!
are!committed!against!a!group!as!such!or!are!committed!generally!against!a!large!
number!of!people,!and!often!committed!on!discriminatory!grounds.!Indeed,!if!the!
majority’s!view!that!war!crimes!and!crimes!against!humanity!are!prima*facie!
indistinguishable!as!to!inherent!gravity,!that!principle!would!seemingly!apply!to!
there!also!being!no!hierarchical!difference!between!war!crimes!and!crimes!against!
peace!or!between!war!crimes!and!genocide.!I!find!this!position!to!be!inherently!
flawed,!as!it!fails!to!take!into!account!inter*alia!the!broader!nature!of!the!crimes!or!
the!different!interests!the!prohibitions!of!the!crimes!are!intended!to!protect.58!
!
In!other!words,!genocide!and!crimes!against!humanity!are!innately!graver!offences!than!
war!crimes!and!thus,!warrant!lengthier!prison!terms!as!sentences.!!Judge!Vohrah’s!opinion,!
however,!is!not!indicative!of!all!the!judges!at!the!ICTY.!!For!instance,!the!Trial!Chamber!in!
the!Kunarac!case!said!that!it!was!irresponsible!to!compare!the!gravity!of!international!
crimes.!!In!Kunarac,!the!Trial!Chamber!also!held!that!criminal!acts!do!not!attract!more!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
57.!!Ibid.,!600.!
58.!!“Judgment!in!the!Prosecutor!v.!Furundžija,”!International*Criminal*Tribunal*for*the*
former*Yugoslavia!(2000):!89,!http://www.icty.!org/x/cases/furundzija/acjug/en/furA
aj000721e.pdf.!

severe!penalties!if!branded!crimes!against!humanity!or!genocide.59!!Ultimately,!Carcano!
stresses!that!ICTY!judges!remain!split!to!this!day!about!the!relative!seriousness!of!
international!crime.!!
Similarly!to!Carcano,!researcher!Allison!Danner!researches!what!has!been!said!about!
the!existence!of!a!hierarchy!of!international!crime!and!its!relation!to!sentencing.60!!Danner!
also!focuses!on!ICTY/ICTR!case!law,!but!first!looks!at!some!general!principles!of!criminal!
law,!the!Nuremberg!Charter,!and!the!Statutes!of!the!ICTY!and!the!ICTR.!!She!explores!more!
or!less!the!same!cases!as!Carcano!in!hopes!of!convincing!readers!of!her!conclusion.!!She!
says:!“The!battle!over!a!normative!hierarchy!of!international!crimes!has!played!out!in!the!
Tribunals!on!a!field!that!pitches!the!status!of!crimes!against!humanity!against!that!of!
violations!of!the!laws!and!customs!of!war.”61!!Danner!then!goes!on!to!conclude!that!based!
on!the!Statutes!and!the!pool!of!ICTY/ICTR!cases!that!had!been!decided!in!2000,!the!Courts!
have!not!established!a!hierarchy!of!international!crime.!
II! Defining!the!Categories!of!International!Crime!
Despite!that!it!has!been!decades!since!the!first!use!of!the!charge!of!crimes!against!humanity!
and!genocide,!and!even!longer!since!the!establishment!the!war!crimes!charge,!the!
definitions!of!these!three!are!still!challenged.!!Questions!still!arise!concerning!the!scope!of!
these!three!classes!of!international!crime!and!their!similarities!and!differences.!!For!this!
reason,!international!treaties!and!international!case!law!have!been!studied!extensively.!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
60.!!Danner,!“Constructing!a!Hierarchy,”!415A501.!
61.!!Ibid.,!492.!

Scholar!Payam!Akhavan!wrote!one!piece!that!explains!the!dilemma!concerning!the!
definitions!of!these!three!charges!very!well.62!!He!begins!by!discussing!the!two!main!
elements!of!the!definition!of!crimes!against!humanity:!the!contextual!element!and!the!
mental!element!(mens*rea).!!The!gist!of!Akhavan’s!argument,!in!this!part!of!his!work,!is!that!
the!requirement!that!a!crime!be!of!“a!certain!scale!and!gravity”!is!an!essential!ingredient!in!
the!definition!of!crimes!against!humanity.63!!Similarly!to!Frulli,!Akhavan!asserts!that!there!
are!two!basic!pieces!of!the!definition!of!crimes!against!humanity!that!sets!it!apart!from!the!
definitions!of!war!crimes!and!genocide.!!These!include:!“the!emancipation!of!crimes!against!
humanity!from!the!context!of!armed!conflict”!and!(2)!the!distinction!that!this!crime!be!
committed!with!“knowledge!of!the!broader!context”!and!not!simply!intent!to!commit!a!
crime.64!!In!other!words,!because!crimes!against!humanity!are!not!always!committed!
during!wartime!and!the!perpetrator!does!not!just!intend!to!commit!a!crime!but!rather!
intends!to!harm!a!specific!community,!crimes!against!humanity!are!inherently!different!
than!war!crimes!and!the!crime!of!genocide.!!
Akhavan!then!explains!the!added!mens*rea!required!for!genocide.!!In!this!section,!he!
brings!up!the!Kambanda,!and!Jelisić*cases!in!an!effort!to!illustrate!the!aspect!of!the!
definition!of!genocide!that!distinguishes!it!from!other!international!crimes.!!He!says:!“There!
is!a!distinction!between!the!scope!of!intent—which!is!to!destroy!a!group—and!the!degree!of!
intent—referring!to!a!hierarchy!of!culpable!mental!states!such!as!culpa,!dolus*eventualis,!
dolus*generalis!and!dolus*specialis.”65!!He!continues!explaining!that!the!standard!for!dolus*
specialis!(intent)!is!particularly!high.!!It!is!not!enough!that!the!defendant!knows!his!crime!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
62.!!Akhavan,!“Contributions!of!the!International!Criminal!Tribunals,”!279A284.!!
63.!!Ibid.,!280.!
64.!!Ibid.,!280.!
65.!!Ibid.,!282.!

might!result!in!the!destruction!of!a!group;!the!accused!must!intend!to!destroy!a!specific!
group!because!of!the!race,!ethnicity,!nationality!or!religion!its!members!share.66!!According!
to!Akhavan,!the!distinction!in!the!type!of!intent!required!for!genocide!was!first!established!
in!the!Kambanda!case!and!later!upheld!in!the!Jelisić!case.!!
Akhavan!also!discusses!a!number!of!other!ICTY/ICTR!cases!including!Tadić,!Akayesu,!
Kupreškić,!and!Erdemović.!!For!each,!he!discusses!statements!made!by!the!Trial!Chamber!
interpreting!the!legal!definitions!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity,!and!war!crimes.!!
Ultimately,!Akhavan!concludes!that!the!case!law!shows!a!“considerable!contribution!to!the!
progressive!development!and!definition!of!…!the!most!serious,!and!ambiguous,!crimes!in!
international!law.”67!!In!other!words,!without!the!ICTY/ICTR,!the!international!community!
would!not!have!as!good!of!an!understanding!of!the!factors!that!differentiate!these!
international!crimes!from!each!other.!!!
Another!crucial!piece!that!analyzed!the!definitions!of!these!crimes!is!Simon!
Chesterman’s!“An!Altogether!Different!Order:!Defining!the!Elements!of!Crimes!Against!
Humanity.”68!!The!focus!of!Chesterman’s!article!is!on!explaining!the!differences!in!the!
definitions!of!crimes!against!humanity!found!in!the!ICTY/ICTR!Statutes!and!the!Rome!
Statute.!!According!to!Chesterman,!The!only!thing!that!these!three!instruments!have!in!
common!is!that!they!all!“state!that!certain!acts!…!committed!under!defined!circumstances!
constitute!crimes!against!humanity.”69!!Purportedly,!even!the!lists!of!criminal!acts!
considered!crimes!against!humanity,!in!these!documents,!are!different.!!They!all!consider!
murder,!extermination,!enslavement,!deportation,!imprisonment,!torture,!rape,!and!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
66.!!Ibid.,!282.!
67.!!Ibid.,!284.!
68.!!Chesterman,!“An!Altogether!Different!Order,”!307A343.!
69.!!Ibid.,!309.!

persecution!crimes!against!humanity.!!However,!the!Rome!Statute!also!includes!the!crime!
of!apartheid!and!the!enforced!disappearance!of!persons!in!its!definition.!!It!should!be!
noted,!though,!that!this!is!not!that!surprising!since!the!Rome!Statute!is!a!negotiated,!
prospective!agreement!in!which!the!international!community!was!free!to!expand!the!
definitions!of!crimes!as!they!saw!fit.!!The!ICTY!and!the!ICTR,!on!the!other!hand,!were!given!
jurisdiction!over!conduct!that!had!already!taken!place.!!Thus,!their!statutes!had!to!conform!
to!recognized!international!law!as!it!stood!at!the!time!of!their!creation.!
Chesterman!also!asserts!that!the!Rome!Statute!provides!a!much!more!elaborate!
definition!of!crimes!against!humanity.!!The!example!he!uses!is!the!ICTY/ICTR!Statutes’!use!
of!the!term!“rape”!as!opposed!to!the!Rome!Statute’s!use!of!the!terms!“sexual!slavery,”!
“enforced!prostitution,”!“forced!pregnancy,”!and!“enforced!sterilization”!in!addition!to!the!
term!“rape.”70!
According!to!Chesterman,!another!significant!difference!between!these!documents!is!
that!the!Statute!of!the!ICTY!requires!a!crime!against!humanity!to!be!committed!in!the!
context!of!an!armed!conflict!while!the!Statute!of!the!ICTR!and!the!Rome!Statutes!do!not.!!
This!is!very!unusual!considering!that!it!is!now!widely!accepted!that!crimes!against!
humanity!are!not!always!committed!during!wartime.!!A!third!notable!difference!is!the!ICTR!
Statute’s!requirement!that!crimes!against!humanity!be!“committed!as!part!of!a!widespread!
or!systematic!attack!against!a!civilian!population!on!national,!political,!ethnic,!racial!or!
religious!grounds.”71!!The!first!part!of!this—the!part!that!requires!the!crime!to!be!
committed!in!a!widespread!or!continuous!way!against!a!specific!group—is!not!unusual.!!
The!second!part,!which!requires!that!the!act!to!be!committed!on!discriminatory!grounds,!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
70.!!Ibid.,!309.!
71.!!Ibid.,!311.!

however,!is!strange.!!This!characteristic!is!usually!what!sets!genocide!apart!from!crimes!
against!humanity,!but!for!some!reason,!it!is!included!in!the!ICTR’s!definition!of!crimes!
against!humanity.!!!
After!discussing!the!definition!of!crimes!against!humanity!according!to!the!ICTY,!ICTR,!
and!Rome!Statutes,!Chesterman!explains!the!definition!of!crimes!against!humanity!in!a!
more!general!fashion.!!In!this!section,!Chesterman!mentions!some!case!law,!but!primarily!
sticks!to!a!discussion!of!the!way!the!law!is!written.!!Chesterman!then!moves!on!to!a!
discussion!of!specific!crimes!against!humanity!and!their!extraordinary!requirements.!!Here,!
he!discusses!murder,!extermination,!and!rape!in!tremendous!detail.!!Chesterman!concludes!
that!while!understanding!the!three!definitions!of!crimes!against!humanity!provided!in!the!
ICTY,!ICTR,!and!Rome!Statutes!is!a!great!start,!they!are!not!the!be*all,*end*all!of!the!dialogue.!!
The!third!piece!that!addresses!the!definitions!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity!and!
war!crimes!is!David!Luban’s!“A!Theory!of!Crimes!Against!Humanity.”72!!In!this!piece,!Luban!
seeks!to!define!crimes!against!humanity!within!the!context!of!other!classes!of!crimes!
commonly!seen!on!the!international!stage!such!as!the!crime!of!genocide!and!war!crimes.!!
He!begins!by!discussing!the!origins!of!the!term!crimes!against!humanity!bringing!up!the!
Nuremberg!Charter,!Hannah!Arendt’s!Eichmann*in*Jerusalem:*A*Report*on*the*Banality*of*
Evil,73!and!Mary!Ann!Glendon’s!A*World*Made*New:*Eleanor*Roosevelt*and*the*Universal*
Declaration*of*Human*Rights.74!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
72.!!Luban,!“A!Theory!of!Crimes!against!Humanity,”!85A167.!
73.!!Eichmann*in*Jerusalem!is!a!commentary!on!the!trial!of!Adolf!Eichmann,!which!was!
heard!by!the!Jerusalem!District!Court!in!1961.!!Eichmann!was!sentenced!to!death!after!
being!convicted!of!crimes!against!humanity!and!crimes!against!the!Jewish!people.!
74.!!A*World*Made*New!explains!the!difference!between!crimes!against!peace!and!
crimes!against!humanity.!

Luban!then!describes!the!legal!features!of!crimes!against!humanity!in!immense!detail!
citing!Article!6(c)!of!the!Nuremberg!Charter.!!In!this!section,!he!asserts!that!“crimes!against!
humanity!consist!of!the!most*severe!and!abominable!acts!of!violence!and!persecution”!
(emphasis!added).75!!By!this,!Luban!means!that!crimes!against!humanity!encompass!some!
of!the!most!evil!things!that!humans!can!do!to!each!other.76!!It!is!important!to!note,!however,!
that!Luban!draws!this!conclusion!after!examining!the!Nuremberg!Charter,!which!was!
written!well!before!the!crime!of!genocide!was!defined.!!In!fact,!the!very!word!“genocide”!
was!only!coined!in!1944!and!it!was!not!formally!defined!until!a!couple!of!years!later!when!
the!Genocide!Convention!was!adopted.!!So!when!Luban!says!that!crimes!against!humanity!
encompass!the!“most!severe!and!abominable!acts,”!he!is!effectively!including!what!is!now!
the!separate!offense!of!genocide.!
III! Where!the!Literature!Leaves!Us!
A!few!central!conclusions!can!be!drawn!from!the!existing!literature.!!First,!there!is!little!
evidence!that!sentencing!at!the!international!level!is!inconsistent!as!some!scholars!have!
argued.!!This!is!according!to!the!studies!conducted!by!Holá,!Bijleveld,!and!Smeulers!in!2012!
and!Meernik!in!2003.!!!
Second,!there!is!some!evidence!that!indicates!that!a!hierarchy!of!seriousness!does,!in!
fact,!exist.!!More!specifically,!Frulli!concluded!in!2001!that!certain!international!crimes!
seem!to!be!perceived!as!more!serious!than!others!by!the!courts,!but!that!more!case!law!
needs!to!be!analyzed!before!this!can!be!said!definitively.!!Writing!in!2002,!Carcano!stressed!
that!a!hierarchy!may!very!well!exist,!but!that!the!international!community!remains!split!on!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
75.!!Luban,!“A!Theory!of!Crimes!against!Humanity,”!98.!
76.!!Ibid.,!109.!

the!issue.!!Danner,!whose!article!was!published!in!2001,!argued!the!opposite!of!Frulli!and!
Carcano—that!no!established!hierarchy!exists.!!The!bottom!line!is!that!the!relative!
seriousness!of!international!crime!needs!to!be!studied!further!once!additional!case!law!
becomes!available.!!!
And!finally,!the!definitions!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes!need!to!
be!clarified!further.!!Akhavan,!Chesterman,!and!Luban—writing!in!2000,!2000,!and!2004,!
respectively—breakdown!the!legal!definitions!of!these!three!crimes!stressing!that!a!lot!is!
left!up!to!interpretation!and!that!the!debate!concerning!the!definitions!of!these!crimes!is!
far!from!over.!
From!this!list!of!the!basic!conclusions!that!have!been!drawn!by!scholars!in!the!field,!it!is!
clear!how!relevant!these!pieces!are!to!the!research!at!hand.!!This!is!true!despite!the!fact!
that!only!Frulli’s!piece!addressed!a!question!similar!to!the!ones!I!endeavored!to!answer.!!He!
asks:!Are*crimes*against*humanity*more*serious*than*war*crimes?!!Although!genocide!is!
pretty!much!left!out!of!his!analysis,!Frulli’s!work!provided!a!starting!point!for!the!
development!of!my!study!because!his!research!pertains!to!the!relative!severity!of!
international!crime.!!The!other!literature,!in!addition!to!providing!me!with!a!few!concrete!
takeaways,!served!as!examples!of!what!methods!researchers!have!used!to!study!
international!law.!
Based!on!the!review!of!the!literature,!I!settled!on!four!hypotheses:!
(a) There!is,!in!fact,!a!hierarchy!of!seriousness;!
(b) Criminal!acts!that!are!classified!as!genocide!do!actually!receive!the!most!
significant!penalties;!
(c) Offences!classified!as!crimes!against!humanity!result!in!more!serious!penalties!
than!war!crimes;!
(d) A!criminal!act!classified!as!a!crime!against!humanity!carries!a!more!severe!
penalty!than!if!that!same!act!is!labeled!a!war!crime.!
!

C! Methodology!
I!employ!a!mixed!methods!approach!to!address!the!hypotheses!identified!above.!!It!is!
critical!when!executing!a!legal!analysis!to!look!at!both!the!theory!of!the!law!(or!in!other!
words,!how!the!law!was!written)!and!the!law’s!application.!!Accordingly,!I!broke!my!
methodology!into!two!components.!!The!first!is!an!analysis!of!seven!international!statutes!
and!documents.!!And!the!second!is!an!analysis!of!case!law!from!three!tribunals.!!
Correspondingly,!I!divided!this!section!into!two!smaller!sections.!
I! Contextual!Interpretation!of!International!Statutes!
To!answer!these!questions,!I!first!look!to!the!written!law!breaking!down!and!comparing!the!
criminal!acts!that!are!classified!as!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity,!and!war!crimes.!!This!
part!of!my!analysis!includes!a!look!at!the!definitions!of!these!crimes!and!the!contextual!
and/or!mental!elements!required!for!a!court!to!convict!a!defendant!for!committing!these!
crimes.!!In!addition,!I!looked!for!language!in!the!law!that!eludes!to!the!presence!of!a!
hierarchy!of!seriousness.!!This!analysis!comes!from!a!detailed!look!at!international!treaties!
and!other!instruments!that!seek!to!define!these!crimes!as!well!as!provide!guidelines!to!the!
national!and!international!courts!hearing!international!criminal!law!cases.!!The!documents!
I!examined!include:!
1. Convention!on!the!Prevention!and!Punishment!of!the!Crime!of!Genocide!(1948);!
2. The!Geneva!Conventions!of!12!August!1949;!
3. Statute!of!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!the!former!Yugoslavia!(ICTY)!
(1993);!
4. Statute!of!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!Rwanda!(ICTR)!(1994);!
5. Rome!Statute!of!the!International!Criminal!Court!(1998);!!
6. Statute!of!the!Special!Court!for!Sierra!Leone!(SCSL)!(2000);!and!
7. Report!of!the!International!Commission!of!Inquiry!on!Darfur!to!the!United!
Nations!SecretaryAGeneral!(2004).!
!

II! Content!Analysis!of!Three!Tribunals!
Next,!I!looked!to!three!international!criminal!tribunals!as!examples!of!the!application!of!
these!three!categories!of!international!crime.!!The!proceedings!I!examined!include!the!
ICTY,77!the!ICTR,78!and!the!SCSL.79!!
In!total,!I!content!analyzed!122!cases!with!a!total!of!186!defendants!(see!Appendix!A)!in!
my!effort!to!determine!whether,!in!practice,!one!of!these!three!categories!of!crime!is!
perceived!as!more!serious!than!the!other!two!and!whether!this!(assuming!it!exists)!has!
affected!the!sentences!handed!down!to!perpetrators!of!these!crimes.!!For!each!case,!the!
indictments,!trial!chamber!judgments,!and!appeals!chamber!judgments!were!classified!
ultimately!allowing!me!to!analyze!the!sentences!handed!down!to!each!defendant.!!All!of!the!
cases!I!analyzed!have!either!been!completed!(as!of!January!2013)!or!are!currently!pending!
an!appeal.!!
!
D! Implications!for!Future!Proceedings!
The!international!legal!system!as!a!whole!is!in!its!infancy,!but!nonetheless,!continuing!the!
dialogue!regarding!the!severity!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes!is!
crucial!to!the!success!of!the!ICC!and!future!ad*hoc!tribunals!that!are!set!up.!!The!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
77.!!Established!by!the!United!Nations!Security!Council!in!1993,!the!ICTY!was!set!up!to!
prosecute!the!perpetrators!of!the!heinous!crimes!committed!during!the!Yugoslav!Wars.!!
The!ad*hoc!court!has!indicted!161!individuals,!to!date,!on!charges!of!war!crimes,!crimes!
against!humanity,!and!genocide.!
78.!!In!response!to!genocide!and!other!violations!of!international!law!committed!in!
Rwanda,!the!United!Nations!Security!Council!established!the!ICTR!in!1994.!!To!date,!the!
ICTR!has!issued!indictments!for!99!individuals.!
79.!!Set!up!by!the!Sierra!Leonean!government!and!the!United!Nations!in!2000,!the!SCSL!
was!created!to!prosecute!perpetrators!of!the!Sierra!Leone!Civil!War.!!A!total!of!12!
individuals!have!been!indicted!by!the!ad*hoc!court.!

contribution!of!my!thesis!is!its!focus!on!this!dialogue.!!Research!to!date!has!clarified!the!
definition!of!these!three!charges!and!looked!at!how!they!have!been!used!at!specific!ad*hoc!
international!criminal!tribunals.!!However,!only!Frulli’s!study!has!actually!analyzed!
whether!these!charges!fall!into!a!hierarchy!of!seriousness!as!I!suspect.!!Given!that!this!
study!did!not!address!the!place!of!genocide!on!this!hierarchy!and!the!fact!that!a!lot!more!
cases!have!been!decided!in!the!decade!since!this!research!was!published,!it!is!time!that!this!
subject!is!researched!again.!
My!research!also!has!an!added!contribution!as!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!
the!former!Yugoslavia!(ICTY)!and!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!Rwanda!(ICTR)!
have!completed!a!lot!more!cases!since!Frulli!studied!this!topic!in!2001.!!In!addition,!a!new!
tribunal—the!Special!Court!for!Sierra!Leone!(SCSL)—was!set!up!and!has!begun!hearing!
cases!since!Frulli’s!work!was!published.!!Another!contribution!of!my!thesis!is!the!inclusion!
of!the!crime!of!genocide!in!my!research!of!the!relative!seriousness!of!international!crime.!!
Neither!Frulli!nor!the!other!scholars!whose!pieces!I!read!discuss!the!crime!of!genocide’s!
place!on!the!hierarchy!of!seriousness.!!For!this!reason,!my!research!not!only!updates!the!
existing!literature,!it!makes!an!original!contribution!as!well.!!!
Frulli!justified!his!research!with!the!following!statement:!!
The!determination!of!their!degree!of!relative!gravity!has!extremely!concrete!
implications:!it!is!crucial!for!the!application!of!penalties.!!If!a!conclusion!is!reached!
that,!all!else!being!equal,!a!crime!against!humanity!is!more!serious!than!a!war!crime,!
then!the!same!criminal!conduct!should!entail!a!heavier!penalty!if!characterized!as!a!
crime!against!humanity.80!
!!
This!research!draws!upon!additional!case!law,!which!will!strengthen!any!extrapolation!
regarding!the!relative!severity!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes.!!New!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
80.!!Frulli,!“Are!Crimes!against!Humanity!More!Serious!than!War!Crimes,”!330.!!

methodologies!are!also!applied!providing!a!more!robust!foundation!for!conclusions!about!
the!differences!between!these!charges.!
Summing!up,!this!thesis!gauges!whether!the!international!legal!system!has!effectively!
created!a!ranking!of!these!classifications!and,!whether!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity,!
and!war!crimes!is!that!ranking!with!respect!to!their!severity.!!Determining!the!seriousness!
of!these!three!criminal!categories!as!they!relate!to!each!other!is!critical!to!evaluating!the!
consistency!of!past!sentencing!and!the!application!of!sentences!in!the!future.!!Given!that!
there!are!multiple!international!tribunals!(e.g.!the!International!Criminal!Court,!the!
Extraordinary!Chambers!in!the!Courts!of!Cambodia,!the!Special!Tribunal!for!Lebanon,!and!
the!new!hybrid!African!UnionASenegal!court)!and!various!national!courts!hearing!
international!criminal!law!cases!without!a!significant!body!of!jurisprudence!to!rely!on,!this!
project!will!aid!these!courts!in!determining!appropriate!sentences.!
!
E! Organization!of!the!Remaining!Chapters!
Generally!speaking,!I!conclude!that!the!crime!of!genocide!seems!to!be!the!most!heinous!
international!crime.!!Likewise,!crimes!against!humanity!seem!to!be!more!serious!than!war!
crimes.!!I!also!found!that!not!only!does!this!hierarchy!exist,!but!that!it!had!an!effect!on!the!
sentences!handed!down!by!the!ICTY,!the!ICTR!and!the!SCSL!to!perpetrators!of!these!crimes.!!
Since!my!methodology!is!easily!broken!into!two!parts,!I!divided!up!my!findings!into!two!
chapters.!!The!first!(Chapter!2)!is!titled:!“Interpreting!International!Law:!Definitions!and!
the!Severity!of!Crimes.”!!It!covers!my!analysis!of!the!seven!international!statutes!and!legal!
commentaries!I!chose!to!examine.!!I!divided!my!interpretation!of!the!law!into!five!sections.!!
Section!I!explores!genocide’s!origins!and!definition.!!Section!II!compares!and!contrasts!the!

different!legal!definitions!of!crimes!against!humanity.!!Section!III!explores!the!similarities!
and!differences!between!the!different!legal!definitions!of!war!crimes.!!Section!IV!discusses!
whether!genocide!is!the!most!heinous!international!crime,!as!I!hypothesized.!!Section!V!
discusses!evidence!in!the!law,!which!suggests!that!crimes!against!humanity!are!more!
serious!than!war!crimes.!
My!second!chapter!of!findings!(Chapter!3)!is!titled:!“Evaluating!Case!Law:!Data!from!
Three!Tribunals.”!!This!is!where!my!findings!from!my!content!analysis!are!laid!out.!!The!
data!collected!from!my!content!analysis!of!122!cases!across!three!ad*hoc!courts!are!
illustrated!by!five!figures.!
In!addition!to!presenting!my!findings!and!conclusions!in!each!of!these!chapters,!the!
implications!of!this!research!are!discussed.!!These!are!laid!out!in!Section!D!of!Chapter!2!and!
in!Section!E!of!Chapter!3.!!Chapter!2!also!includes!a!brief!description!of!the!conflicts!that!
resulted!in!the!ICTY,!the!ICTR!and!the!SCSL.!
In!Chapter!4,!major!takeaways!of!this!research!are!laid!out.!!Policy!recommendations!
for!the!ICC,!current!and!future!ad*hoc!courts!(such!as!the!Extraordinary!Chambers!in!the!
Courts!of!Cambodia,!the!Special!Tribunal!for!Lebanon,!and!the!new!hybrid!African!UnionA
Senegal!court)!and!national!courts!hearing!international!criminal!law!cases!are!also!
offered.!!Then,!a!few!of!the!questions!left!unanswered!by!this!study!are!outlined!in!the!
hopes!that!future!researchers!will!attempt!to!answer!them.!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!

2( Interpreting(International(Law:(Definitions(and(the((
Severity(of(Crimes(
(
It!is!hard!to!argue!the!relevance!of!international!law!when!prisoners!remain!incarcerated!in!
Guantanamo!Bay,!Iran!gets!closer!and!closer!to!having!nuclear!weapons,!and!ethnic!
violence!verging!on!genocide!continues!to!erupt!all!over!the!world.!!But!despite!the!near!
constant!criticism!of!the!United!Nations!(UN)!and!the!various!courts!hearing!international!
criminal!law!cases,!one!thing!is!certain—we!have!made!leaps!and!bounds!since!the!AlliedA
powers!tried!Nazi!war!criminals!at!Nuremberg.!
That!said,!there!is!still!work!to!be!done.!!In!fact,!many!unanswered!questions!remain,!
the!most!basic!of!which!is:!What*exactly*constitutes*international*law?!!According!to!Nolo’s!
PlainAEnglish!Law!Dictionary,!“the!term!is!taken!to!mean!the!collection!of!treaties,!
multilateral!agreements,!and!customs!governing!the!interaction!of!nations,!multinational!
businesses!or!nongovernmental!organizations.”!!This!is!fairly!straightforward.!!However,!
there!is!no!one!definition!of!international!law!that!is!accepted!by!all!of!the!system’s!
stakeholders.!!Consider!the!description!Rosalyn!Higgins!gives!of!the!term.!!A!former!
president!of!the!International!Court!of!Justice,!Higgins!says:!
International!law!is!not!rules.!!It!is!a!normative!system.!!All!organized!groups!and!
structures!require!a!system!of!normative!conduct—that!is!to!say,!conduct!which!is!
regarded!by!each!actor,!and!by!the!group!as!a!whole,!as!being!obligatory,!and!for!
which!violation!carries!a!price!…!Without!law!at!the!domestic!level,!cars!cannot!
safely!travel!on!the!roads,!purchases!cannot!be!made,!personal!safety!cannot!be!
secured.!!Without!international!law,!safe!aviation!could!not!be!agreed,!resources!
could!not!be!allocated,![and]!people!could!not!safely!choose!to!dwell!in!foreign!
lands.!!Two!points!are!immediately!apparent.!!The!first!is!that!this!is!humdrum!stuff.!!
The!role!of!law!is!to!provide!an!operational!system!for!securing!values!that!we!all!
desire—security,!freedom,!the!provision!of!sufficient!materials!goods.!!It!is!not,!as!is!
commonly!supposed,!only!about!resolving!disputes!…!The!second!point!is!that!…!
international!law!is!no!different!from!domestic!law.!!It!is!not,!as!some!suppose!an!

arcane!and!obscure!body!of!rules!whose!origin!and!purpose!are!shrouded!in!
mystery.81!
!
Higgins!clearly!believes!that!international!law!is!critical!as!a!basis!for!securing!“values!we!
all!desire”!such!as!safety,!freedom,!and!procurement!across!national!borders.!!It!is!not!she!
says,!“humdrum!stuff”!and!it!is!not!only!about!resolving!disputes.!!It!differs!from!domestic!
law!because!the!stakeholders!include!people!of!the!world!at!large.!!The!normative!conduct!
defined!by!these!laws!is!obligatory!for!people!across!nations!and!geographic!boundaries.!
Then!there!is!the!question!of!whether!this!body!of!treaties!and!agreements!is!even!
legitimate!given!that!many!nations!have!not!ratified!the!most!important!of!these!
documents.!!After!all,!the!U.S.,!a!major!global!player,!has!not!even!ratified!the!Rome!
Statute.82!!The!issue!of!course!is!that!the!international!legal!system!is!young!and!thus!its!
tenants!are!under!construction.!!This!will!likely!continue!for!some!years!and!thus!the!laws!
used!to!bring!criminals!to!justice!will!evolve!over!that!time.!
This!thesis!does!not!speak!to!the!definition!or!legitimacy!of!international!law,!but!it!
does!look!at!the!law!in!an!effort!to!ascertain!if!certain!crimes!are!considered!more!serious!
than!others.!!A!mixed!methods!approach!was!used!to!look!at!this!topic.!!This!chapter!
outlines!the!findings!of!my!statutory!analysis!while!the!next!chapter!outlines!the!findings!of!
my!content!analysis.!!Ultimately,!this!research!will!help!to!standardize!the!use!of!specific!
charges!and!thus!increase!the!legitimacy!of!the!courts!themselves.!!To!put!it!more!
specifically,!this!thesis!asks:!Is*there*a*hierarchy*of*seriousness*among*the*charges*of*
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
81.!!Quoted!in!Donald!A.!Rothwell,!Stuart!Kaye,!Afshin!Akhtarkhavari,!and!Ruth!Davis,!
Cases*and*Materials*with*Australian*Perspectives,!(New!York:!Cambridge!University!Press,!
2011),!http://www.cambridge.org/aus/catalogue/!
catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521609111&ss=exc.!
82.!!Although!the!U.S.!had!a!major!role!in!drafting!the!Rome!Statute,!it!has!currently!
signed!but!not!ratified!the!document.!!The!significance!of!this!point!is!that!by!not!having!
ratified!this!treaty,!the!U.S.!is!not!subject!to!prosecution!for!violating!the!statute.!

genocide,*crimes*against*humanity*and*war*crimes?**And*if*a*hierarchy*exists,*what*is*its*
impact*on*the*sentences*that*have*been*handed*down*to*perpetrators*of*these*crimes?!
!
A! Analyzing!International!Statutes!
In!order!to!answer!these!questions,!the!first!step!is!to!look!at!how!the!was!written.!!The!
goal!of!this!part!of!the!methodology!was!to!see!whether!the!law!itself!acknowledges!the!
existence!of!a!hierarchy!of!seriousness.!!Three!predominant!concepts!were!reviewed:!(1)!
the!definitions!of!the!crime!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity,!and!war!crimes,!(2)!the!
contextual!elements!(actus*reus)!required!for!a!court!to!convict!someone!of!these!crimes,!
and!(3)!the!mental!elements!or!intent!(mens*rea)!required!for!a!court!to!convict.!!The!
analysis!comes!from!a!detailed!look!at!various!international!treaties!and!other!legal!
instruments.!!These!include!the!following!documents:!
8. Convention!on!the!Prevention!and!Punishment!of!the!Crime!of!Genocide!(1948);!
9. The!Geneva!Conventions!of!12!August!1949;!
10. Statute!of!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!the!former!Yugoslavia!(ICTY)!
(1993);!
11. Statute!of!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!Rwanda!(ICTR)!(1994);!
12. Rome!Statute!of!the!International!Criminal!Court!(1998);!!
13. Statute!of!the!Special!Court!for!Sierra!Leone!(SCSL)!(2000);!and!
14. Report!of!the!International!Commission!of!Inquiry!on!Darfur!to!the!United!
Nations!SecretaryAGeneral!(2004).!
!
Note!that!in!addition!to!the!Statutes!of!the!ICTY,!the!ICTR!and!the!SCSL,!two!of!the!most!
infamous!international!statutes!were!read:!The!Geneva!Conventions!and!the!Rome!Statute.!!
Also!included!was!the!document!that!established!the!crime!of!genocide!and!a!report!to!the!
UN!that!coincidentally!discusses!some!of!the!same!concepts!as!this!thesis.!!Each!of!these!
documents!has!a!direct!relationship!either!to!the!tribunals!discussed!further!in!Chapter!3!
or!to!the!severity!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes.!!These!sources!also!

contributed!to!defining!one!or!more!of!these!crimes.!!By!looking!at!distinctions!between!
these!crimes,!the!court’s!jurisdiction!to!prosecute!these!crimes!and!a!few!commentaries!
published!by!the!UN,!an!assessment!was!enabled!as!to!whether!the!writers!of!the!law!
intended!to!rank!these!crimes!in!terms!of!their!severity.!
The!application!of!these!charges!provides!many!examples!that!a!clear!hierarchy!exists.!!
So!it!was!assumed!that!it!would!be!equally!clear!in!the!examination!of!the!law!as!written.!!
However,!the!anticipated!clarity!in!examining!these!documents!was!not!found.!!That!said,!
there!was!evidence!that!genocide!is!considered!the!most!heinous!of!the!three.!!Several!
citations!provided!in!the!findings!make!reference!to!this!idea.!
The!distinction!between!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes,!on!the!other!hand,!
was!a!little!less!clear.!!While!it!is!apparent!that!the!language!used!to!define!crimes!against!
humanity!is!seemingly!more!severe!than!that!used!to!define!war!crimes,!there!does!not!
seem!to!be!a!clearly!documented!hierarchy!or!ranking!of!these!two!charges.!!While!war!
crimes!are!acts!of!harm!committed!during!an!armed!conflict,!crimes!against!humanity!are!
systematic!acts!committed!against!a!specific!civilian!group!or!population.!!And!they!can!
take!place!either!during!a!time!of!war!or!peace.!!Thus,!the!distinction!in!the!intent!required!
for!crimes!against!humanity!sounds!more!severe.!!However,!nothing!in!the!actual!definition!
or!other!aspects!of!the!law!clearly!says!this.!
Further!to!this!point,!since!war!crimes!by!definition!comes!as!part!of!an!act!of!war,!
there!is!some!ambiguity!as!to!whether!or!not!they!are!justified!or!explained!by!the!context!
of!the!ongoing!conflict.!!And!since!crimes!against!humanity!have!no!such!ambiguity,!that!in!
itself!may!be!reason!to!conclude!that!they!are,!in!fact,!more!serious.!!Still,!there!is!nothing!in!
the!law!itself!that!plainly!says!so.!!!

Accordingly,!this!chapter!details!the!findings!from!reviewing!the!statutes!and!legal!
commentaries!mentioned!above.!!The!definitions!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity!and!
war!crimes!are!compared!and!examples!in!the!language!that!suggest!that!this!hierarchy!
exists!are!cited.!!Subsequently,!in!chapter!three,!the!findings!regarding!how!the!law!has!
been!applied!are!outlined.!
!
B! Key!Findings!
First,!the!definitions!of!genocide,!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!crimes!given!in!the!
various!statutes!and!documents!mentioned!above!were!compared.!!Interestingly,!the!
definition!of!genocide!has!been!reprinted!the!same!as!it!was!in!every!statute!that!was!
analyzed!for!this!thesis.!!On!the!other!hand,!the!definitions!of!crimes!against!humanity!and!
war!crimes!all!differ!from!each!other!ever!so!slightly.!!For!this!reason,!I!noted!the!
differences!with!the!goal!of!seeing!how!these!definitions!have!changed!over!time!and!for!
use!in!specific!contexts.!
Correspondingly,!Section!I!includes!the!definition!of!genocide!and!the!origins!of!the!
term.!!Sections!II!and!III!include!breakdowns!of!how!crimes!against!humanity!and!war!
crimes!are!defined!in!the!most!significant!legal!statutes!and!documents.!!Section!IV!lays!out!
my!findings!with!respect!to!the!severity!of!genocide.!!And!lastly,!Section!V!discusses!the!
severity!of!crimes!against!humanity!as!compared!to!war!crimes.!
!
!
!

I! Genocide’s!Origins!and!Definition!
According!to!the!document83!that!officially!established!genocide!as!a!crime!under!
international!law,!genocide!means!any!of!the!following!acts!committed!with!intent!to!
destroy,!in!whole!or!in!part,!a!national,!ethnical,!racial,!or!religious!group:!
(a) Killing!members!of!the!group;!
(b) Causing!serious!bodily!or!mental!harm!to!members!of!the!group;!
(c) Deliberately!inflicting!on!the!group!conditions!of!life!calculated!to!bring!about!its!
physical!destruction!in!whole!or!in!part;!
(d) Imposing!measures!intended!to!prevent!births!within!the!group;!
(e) Forcibly!transferring!children!of!the!group!to!another!group.84!
!
Some!believe!that!the!discriminatory!element!to!the!definition!of!genocide!is!what!sets!it!
apart!from!other!international!crimes.!!They!would!conclude!that!this!act!of!discrimination!
shows!determination!or!intent!that!makes!genocide!the!most!serious!of!crimes.!!Others!
argue!that!crimes!against!humanity!can!be!just!as!severe.!!Even!war!crimes!are!occasionally!
considered!as!egregious!as!the!other!two,!but!this!perspective!is!seen!much!less!frequently!
in!all!of!the!documentation!I!reviewed.!!!
A!good!starting!point!is!the!origins!of!the!term!“genocide”!itself.!!Raphael!Lemkin!was!
the!first!to!coin!the!word.!!In!his!book,!Axis*Rule*in*Occupied*Europe,!published!in!1944,!
Lemkin!argues,!among!other!things,!that!the!Nazi!policy!of!extermination!of!Jews!and!
Gypsies!as!well!as!some!of!their!other!policies!constitute!genocide.!!Although!Lemkin!is!
credited!with!being!the!first!to!use!the!term,!it!actually!appeared,!years!before!he!used!it,!in!
a!draft!of!the!Charter!of!the!International!Military!Tribunal!at!Nuremberg.!!That!said,!
because!the!term!“genocide”!was!replaced!with!the!term!“crimes!against!humanity”!in!that!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
83.!!“Convention!on!the!Prevention!and!Punishment!of!the!Crime!of!Genocide,”!United*
Nations!(1948),!http://www.oas.org/dil/1948_Convention_on_the_Prevention_and_!
Punishment_of_the_Crime_of_Genocide.pdf.!
84.!!Ibid.,!art.!2.!

document,!Lemkin!is!considered!the!father!of!the!label.!!In!fact,!until!1948!when!the!
Convention!was!adopted,!the!international!community!used!the!term!crimes!against!
humanity!to!deal!with!charges!of!persecution!and!extermination!of!national,!ethnic,!racial!
and!religious!groups.!
According!to!professor!of!international!law!William!Schabas,!the!definition!of!genocide,!
since!being!defined!in!1948,!has!largely!been!“reproduced!without!change!in!such!
instruments!as!the!statutes!of!the!ad*hoc!tribunals!for!the!former!Yugoslavia!and!Rwanda!
and!the!Rome!Statue.”85!!This!is!despite!criticism!that!the!definition!is!too!limited!in!scope.!!
Believers!in!this!group!feel!that!genocide!should!include!the!crimes!of!ethnic!cleansing!and!
similar!attacks!aimed!at!displacing!a!group!instead!of!limiting!it!to!extermination.86!!As!
stated!by!Schabas,!the!definition!of!genocide!“remains!confined!to!the!intentional!physical!
destruction!of!the!group,!rather!than!attacks!on!its!existence!involving!persecution!of!its!
culture!or!the!phenomenon!of!‘ethnic!cleansing.’”87!!However,!supporters!of!the!current!
definition!of!genocide!have!resisted!this!idea!often!by!suggesting!that!the!broader!
definition!should!apply!to!crimes!against!humanity!instead.!!Schabas!actually!addresses!
this!point!as!well.!!He!says:!!
[T]he!gaps!lefts!by!the!somewhat!narrow!definition!of!genocide!in!the!1948!
Convention!have!been!filled!more!or!less!satisfactorily!by!the!dramatic!enlargement!
of!the!ambit!of!crimes!against!humanity!during!the!1990s.!!The!coverage!of!crimes!
against!humanity!expanded!to!include!acts!perpetrated!in!time!of!peace,!and!to!a!
broad!range!of!groups,!not!to!mention!an!ever!growing!list!of!punishable!acts.88!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
85.!!William!A.!Schabas,!“Convention!for!the!Prevention!and!Punishment!of!the!Crime!of!
Genocide,”!United*Nations!(2008):!3,!http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/pdf/ha/cppcg/!
cppcg_e.pdf.!
86.!!Ibid.,!4.!
87.!!Ibid.,!3.!
88.!!Ibid.,!3.!

This!is!not!to!say!that!Schabas!favors!a!more!limited!definition!of!genocide!and!more!
expansive!definition!of!crimes!against!humanity.!!In!fact,!it!is!not!clear!how!he!feels.!!He!is!
simply!addressing!the!controversy!surrounding!the!definition!of!genocide.!
As!Schabas!pointed!out!earlier!in!his!piece,!the!definition!of!genocide!has,!in!fact,!
remained!unchanged!since!it!was!first!codified.!!Some!think!that!this!is!because!of!the!
disagreement!about!whether!or!not!the!definition!should!be!expanded.!!In!fact,!it!could!be!
for!a!very!different!reason.!!However,!one!thing!is!certain—as!Schabas!said,!it!was!indeed!
reproduced!in!the!Rome!Statute!and!the!Statutes!of!the!ICTY!and!the!ICTR!exactly!as!it!was!
written!in!the!Convention!on!the!Prevention!and!Punishment!of!the!Crime!of!Genocide.!!It!is!
interesting!to!note!that!this!is!not!the!case!with!the!definitions!of!crimes!against!humanity!
and!war!crimes.!!The!definitions!of!these!two!categories!of!international!crime!have!been!
adapted!and!changed!numerous!times!over!the!years.!!These!differences!are!explained!in!
the!following!two!sections.!
II! Defining!Crimes!against!Humanity!
Four!different!definitions!of!crimes!against!humanity!were!discovered.!!Although!minor,!
these!are!noteworthy!because!of!how!crucial!legal!terminology!is!to!the!application!of!laws.!!
After!all,!the!application!of!the!law!rests!on!how!the!jargon!within!the!law!is!interpreted.!
Accordingly,!Figures!2.1,!2.2,!2.3!and!2.4!show!the!definitions!of!crimes!against!
humanity!as!written!in!the!Rome!Statute!and!the!Statutes!of!the!ICTY,!the!ICTR!and!the!
SCSL.!!Notice!that!the!most!prominent!differences!in!the!language!of!these!definitions!is!in!
the!text!that!proceeds!the!list!of!criminal!acts.!!It!is!also!important!to!note!that!because!the!
Rome!Statute!is!a!negotiated,!prospective!agreement,!the!definitions!of!the!crimes!are!
longer!and!more!specific!than!those!in!the!Statutes!of!the!ICTY,!the!ICTR!and!the!SCSL.!

Crimes!against!Humanity!as!Defined!by!the!Rome!Statute!
For!the!purpose!of!this!Statute,!‘crime!against!humanity’!means!any!of!the!following!acts!
when!committed!as!part!of!a!widespread!or!systematic!attack!directed!against!any!
civilian!population,!with!knowledge!of!the!attack:!
!
(a) Murder;!
(b) Extermination;!
(c) Enslavement;!
(d) Deportation!or!forcible!transfer!of!population;!
(e) Imprisonment!or!other!severe!deprivation!of!physical!liberty!in!violation!of!
fundamental!rules!of!international!law;!
(f) Torture;!
(g) Rape,!sexual!slavery,!enforced!prostitution,!forced!pregnancy,!enforced!
sterilization,!or!any!other!form!of!sexual!violence!of!comparable!gravity;!
(h) Persecution!against!any!identifiable!group!or!collectivity!on!political,!racial,!
national,!ethnic,!cultural,!religious,!gender!as!defined!in!paragraph!3,!or!other!
grounds!that!are!universally!recognized!as!impermissible!under!international!
law,!in!connection!with!any!act!referred!to!in!this!paragraph!or!any!crime!within!
the!jurisdiction!of!the!Court;!
(i) Enforced!disappearance!of!persons;!
(j) The!crime!of!apartheid;!
(k) Other!inhumane!acts!of!a!similar!character!intentionally!causing!great!suffering,!
or!serious!injury!to!body!or!to!mental!or!physical!health.!
Figure!2.1!
Source:*“Rome!Statute,”!5A6.!
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Crimes!against!Humanity!as!Defined!by!the!Statute!of!the!ICTY!
The!International!Tribunal!shall!have!the!power!to!prosecute!persons!responsible!for!
the!following!crimes!when!committed!in!armed!conflict,!whether!international!or!
internal!in!character,!and!directed!against!any!civilian!population:!
!
(a) Murder;!
(b) Extermination;!
(c) Enslavement;!
(d) Deportation;!
(e) Imprisonment;!
(f) Torture;!
(g) Rape;!
(h) Persecution!on!political,!racial!and!religious!grounds;!
(i) Other!inhumane!acts.!
Figure!2.2!
Crimes!against!Humanity!as!Defined!by!the!Statute!of!the!ICTR!
The!International!Tribunal!for!Rwanda!shall!have!the!power!to!prosecute!persons!
responsible!for!the!following!crimes!when!committed!as!part!of!a!widespread!or!
systematic!attack!against!any!civilian!population!on!national,!political,!ethnic,!racial!or!
religious!grounds:!
!
(a) Murder;!
(b) Extermination;!
(c) Enslavement;!
(d) Deportation;!
(e) Imprisonment;!
(f) Torture;!
(g) Rape;!
(h) Persecution!on!political,!racial!and!religious!grounds;!
Figure!2.3!
Source:!“Statute!of!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!the!former!Yugoslavia,”!United*
Nations!(1993):!6,!http://www.icty.org/x/file/Legal%20Library/Statute/!
statute_sept09_en.pdf.!
Source:!“Statute!of!the!International!Criminal!Tribunal!for!Rwanda,”!United*Nations!
(1994):!61,!http://www.unictr.org/Portals/0/English%5CLegal%5CStatute%5C!
2010.pdf.!
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Figure!2.4!
Crimes!against!Humanity!as!Defined!by!the!SCSL!
The!Special!Court!shall!have!the!power!to!prosecute!persons!who!committed!the!
following!crimes!as!part!of!a!widespread!or!systematic!attack!against!any!civilian!
population:!
!
(a) Murder;!
(b) Extermination;!
(c) Enslavement;!
(d) Deportation;!
(e) Imprisonment;!
(f) Torture;!
(g) Rape,!sexual!slavery,!enforced!prostitution,!forced!pregnancy!and!any!other!form!
of!sexual!violence;!
(h) Persecution!on!political,!racial!or!religious!grounds;!
Source:!“Statute!of!the!Special!Court!for!Sierra!Leone,”!United!Nations!(2000):!art.!2,!
http://www.scAsl.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=uClnd1MJeEw%3D&.!
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To!begin!with,!we!have!the!definition!of!crimes!against!humanity!provided!in!the!Rome!
Statute.!!Since!the!Rome!Statute!is!a!negotiated,!prospective!treaty—in!which!the!
international!community!was!free!to!expand!upon!concepts!as!they!saw!fit—the!definition!
of!crimes!against!humanity!appears!more!comprehensive!than!the!other!three.!!Further!to!
this!point,!because!the!ICTY!and!the!ICTR!are!ad*hoc!tribunals!that!were!given!jurisdiction!
over!conduct!that!had!already!taken!place,!their!statutes!had!to!conform!to!the!law!as!it!
stood!at!the!time!of!their!creation.!!!
This!is!not!to!say!that!the!differences!in!the!definition!of!crimes!against!humanity!
provided!in!the!Rome!Statute!are!not!important!to!note.!!For!starters,!two!crimes!
(apartheid!and!enforced!disappearance!of!persons)!are!included!in!the!Rome!Statute,!but!
nonexistent!in!the!other!three!definitions!I!examined.!!!

Next,!there!is!the!fact!that!a!crime!against!humanity!is!defined!in!the!Rome!Statute!as!
any!of!the!acts!in!the!list!when!they!are!“committed!as!part!of!a!widespread*or*systematic!
attack”!on!a!specific!civilian!group!(emphasis!added).!!This!language!is!similar!to!the!
language!used!in!the!Statutes!of!the!ICTR!and!the!SCSL.!
Another!noticeable!difference!is!that!the!definition!of!crimes!against!humanity!in!the!
Rome!Statute,!unlike!the!one!in!Statute!of!the!ICTR!is!not!written!in!a!way!that!requires!the!
perpetrator!to!have!committed!their!crime(s)!against!a!group!merely!because!of!the!
nationality,!politics,!ethnicity,!race!or!religion!its!members!share.!!!
And!finally,!it!is!clear!in!reading!the!definition!of!crimes!against!humanity!provided!in!
the!Rome!Statute!that!specificity!was!important!to!the!drafters!of!this!document.!!For!
example,!the!Rome!Statute!lists!five!types!of!sex!crimes!in!addition!to!rape.!!This!is!a!
notable!difference!given!the!fact!that!in!the!Statutes!of!the!ICTY!and!the!ICTR!only!rape!is!
listed.!
Turning!to!the!Statute!of!the!ICTY,!there!were!a!few!additional!differences!noticed.!!For!
example,!unlike!the!other!three!reviewed!definitions,!the!significance!of!crimes!against!
humanity!in!this!Statute!says!that!the!perpetrator,!in!addition!to!targeting!a!specific!group!
of!people,!must!have!committed!one!or!more!of!the!acts!listed!during!an!armed!conflict!in!
order!to!be!prosecuted.!!This!is!probably!the!most!important!difference!that!was!revealed.!!
This!is!because!the!inclusion!of!this!requirement!clouds!the!distinction!of!crimes!against!
humanity!from!war!crimes.!!In!other!words,!one!of!the!distinguishing!characteristics!
between!these!two!crimes,!according!to!most!scholars,!is!that!crimes!against!humanity!are!
committed!during!a!time!of!war!or!peace!whereas!war!crimes!are!only!committed!as!part!of!
an!armed!conflict.!

Figures!2.1,!2.2,!2.3!and!2.4!illustrate!a!number!of!noteworthy!differences!between!the!
delineations!of!crimes!against!humanity!given!in!the!Rome!Statute!and!the!Statutes!of!the!
ICTY,!the!ICTR!and!the!SCSL.!!Most!of!the!differences!are!in!the!text!that!precedes!the!list!of!
criminal!acts!provided!with!each!definition.!!However,!there!are!also!noteworthy!
differences!in!the!lists!of!criminal!acts.!!To!begin!with,!the!Rome!Statute!includes!more!
crimes!and!is!more!specific!than!the!other!three.!!Then!there!is!the!fact!that!different!
language!was!used!in!each!statute!to!define!crimes!against!humanity.!!As!already!explained,!
this!is!most!apparent!in!the!Statute!of!the!ICTR,!which!says!that!a!perpetrator!must!target!a!
specific!civilian!group!and!attack!them!during!wartime.!
What!makes!these!distinctions!worth!noting!is!that!these!statutes!are!what!give!these!
courts!jurisdiction!to!prosecute.!!Thus!a!difference!between!one!court’s!definition!and!
another!might!result!in!inconsistencies!in!the!way!the!law!is!applied.!!Furthermore,!these!
statutes!are!what!prosecutors!turn!to!in!order!to!ensure!that!the!facts!they!are!presenting!
correspond!with!the!way!the!defendant!was!charged.!!And!finally,!the!definitions!are!used!
by!judges!in!pronouncing!sentence.!!Given!that!consistency!in!the!application!of!the!law!is!
one!of!the!primary!goals!of!the!international!legal!system,!it!is!crucial!that!the!statutes!of!
these!courts!are!interpreted!similarly.!!The!differences!in!the!definitions!of!crimes!against!
humanity!can!only!hinder!this!effort.!
That!said,!examining!the!differences!between!the!definitions!of!crimes!against!humanity!
only!tells!part!of!the!story.!!Accordingly,!the!next!section!applies!the!same!process!to!the!
definitions!of!war!crimes!found!in!these!very!same!statutes.!
!
!

III! Defining!War!Crimes!
The!definitions!of!war!crimes!provided!in!the!Rome!Statute!and!the!Statutes!of!the!ICTY,!
the!ICTR!and!the!SCSL!are!all!different—just!like!with!the!definitions!of!crimes!against!
humanity.!!Interestingly,!these!four!definitions!of!war!crimes!primarily!differ!in!the!lists!of!
criminal!acts.!!For!the!most!part,!the!text!that!proceeds!these!lists!is!pretty!much!the!same!
across!the!board.!!Each!definition!says!that!war!crimes!encompass!both!violations!of!the!
laws!and!customs!of!war!and!breaches!of!the!Geneva!Conventions!of!1949.!!Accordingly,!
Figures!2.5,!2.6,!2.7!and!2.8!show!the!definitions!of!war!crimes!as!written!in!the!Rome!
Statute!and!the!Statutes!of!the!ICTY,!the!ICTR!and!the!SCSL,!respectively.!
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