WP2: The interaction between international criminal tribunals and domestic jurisdictions as a catalyst for the improvement of international criminal law.

To explore the influence of the case law of international criminal tribunals and courts on domestic prosecution and trial of (perpetrators of) international crimes and, reversely, to investigate the impact of national concepts and doctrines of criminal law on international criminal tribunals. A central hypothesis of the research is that both the principle of complementarity and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, setting limits to the procedural and substantive possibilities of states parties to prosecute and try international crimes, have a preliminary harmonizing effect on domestic legal practice in respect of international crimes.  Apart from the legal evaluation, the research will focus on the social and criminological effects of adjudication of international crimes within local communities.  In view of current research on rape as an international crime, the project will address gender issues as well. 

University of Amsterdam is the leader of WP2. Hebrew University is a partner.