The Applicable Law by the International Penal Court

• Author: Lavinia Mihaela Vladila - Stefania Brotac
• Position: Valahia University of Târgoviste, Faculty of Legal, Social and Political Sciences - Valahia University of Târgoviste, Faculty of Legal, Social and Political Sciences
• Pages: 276-282

The Applicable Law by the International Penal Court

Lavinia Mihaela Vlădilă1

Ştefania Brotac2

1Valahia University of Târgoviste, Faculty of Legal, Social and Political Sciences,

laviniavladila@yahoo.com

2Valahia University of Târgoviste, Faculty of Legal, Social and Political Sciences,

brotacstefania@yahoo.com

Abstract: The absence of an international criminal jurisdiction at the end of the second milenium, taking into

consideration that the criminal acts with worldwide fame h ad grown, forced th e international community to

create a common court that would have the power of a punishing instrument for the illicite erga omnes.

Through the specific role of this Court, which is - to be an international Court and due to the lack of an

international code of criminal law and procedure, the problem of the applicable law was elegantly solved by

the Court Status. Practically, the definition of „ applicable law” is equivalent answering to the q uestion:

„What normative rule can be applied from the procedural point o f view?” and also to the questions: „ Where

are the definitions of the crimes for wich the Court is competent to judge of or for which any person could be

judged for by this Court?”

Keywords: International Criminal Court, applicable law, international jurisdiction, Status, principles.

1. Introduction

The lack of an international penal jurisdiction at the end of the second millennium taking into

consideration that the international known crimes had increased1, forced the international community to

create a common court that would have the value of a punishing instrument for the illicit erga omnes2.

The steps taken to initiate an international penal court were older, starting with the period between the two

world wars even though there were voices that had been heard before.

In 1872, Gustav Moynier shaped maybe for the first time the idea of a penal international jurisdiction

court that would have the competence to judge the crimes commited against the rights of gints. Presented

in Geneve and Cambridge, the idea was rejected by the specific perspective of that time.

After the world war and the treaty of Versailles, a special court was created. It was made of five judges

chosen by the victorious states to judge Wilhelm Second of Hohenzolern for his ‘prejudices against the

international moral values ’and ‘to the holy strength of treaties’. He was never judged because he got

refugee in Holland and Holland refused his release.

1

according to art 5. from the Court Status, it judges the following types of crimes : genocide, crimes against humanity, war

crimes and aggression crimes .

2

Mona Maria Pivniceru’ Penal Punishment in the International Law’ Polirom Publishing House, Iasi, 1999, page 153

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