International criminal law. A collection of international and European instruments, 2nd ed.

Book abstract:

With the effects of globalisation, legal practitioners, judges and civil servants in ministries are increasingly confronted with issues of international criminal law. Just in the last few years there have been the well-known cases of the Yugoslavia tribunal in The Hague and the case against Mr. Pinochet. Over the same period there has also been a considerable increase in the number of instruments in the field of international criminal law such as the Rome Statute for an International Criminal Court (1998) and the EU Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (2000). This book offers a selection of the most important instruments, providing students and practitioners with a guide though the maze of international criminal law, with specific emphasis on universal and European instruments.

The book is divided into five parts. Part one examines the international human rights which constitute the basic 'acquis' of defendants as well as victims in international criminal proceedings. The emphasis in part two is on the international criminal court including the statutes of the two ad hoc international tribunals (the Yugoslavia-tribunal (1993) and the Arusha tribunal (1994)) and the Rome Statute for an international Criminal Court (1998). The third part presents the most important codifications, that tend towards the elaboration of an international criminal code while part four contains a selection of the most important international crimes such as war crimes, terrorism and money laundering. The final part of the book examines the various forms of international co-operation in criminal matters such as extradition, co-operation between investigation authorities or judicial authorities, and the transfer of criminal proceedings or prisoners.