On Friday, 31 March 2023 The African Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice (ACTCJ) hosted a hybrid seminar with the title - 'The Historical Evolution of International Criminal Justice' presented by Dr Taxiarchis Fiskatoris.
Dr Fiskatoris is an adjunct lecturer at the Marburg Law School, Philipps-University in Germany and a research fellow with the African Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice at the Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape. The aim of the seminar was to provide an overview of the international criminal justice origins and evolution.
The African Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice, which was formerly known as the South African-German Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice, undertake cutting-edge research in its research niche, train subject specialist and experts equipped with the necessary skills to work in the field of international criminal law, transitional justice, transnational organised crimes and related fields at a local, regional and international level. The Centre provides a platform for critical and engaged scholarship that responds to the myriad challenges confronting the African continent in a rapidly changing and interconnected world. Transnational Criminal Justice focuses on transnational organised crimes, international criminal law and transitional justice.
Dr Fiskatoris's presentation focused on the development of International Criminal Justice and touched on the following historical events: the Lampsacos Trial (405 BC); the Trial of Peter von Hagenbach (1474); the Anti-Slave-Trade Tribunals (1817-1871); the first draft in history for a permanent international criminal court (1872); the Paris Peace Treaties (1919); the Interwar Proposals (1920); the First Treaty about a Permanent International Criminal Court (1937); United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC, 1943-1948); the Nuremberg (1945-1946) and Tokyo Trials (1946-1948); Genocide Convention (1948); the first projects of the International Law Commission (1951/1953); the Apartheid Convention (1973); the 1989 Trinidad and Tobago Proposal, the ad hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (1994/1995); and the Rome Conference (1998).
Dr Fiskatoris argued that, for most scholars, the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals are the birthplaces of International Criminal Justice, because Nuremberg and Tokyo had a significant turning point in the history of International Criminal Justice. However, the ancient and medieval international tribunals should not be excluded, which preceded Nuremberg and Tokyo in the discussion of historical narratives. Furthermore, Dr Fiskatoris stated that most International Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Textbooks tend to relegate the significance of early instances of International Criminal Justice and focus on the road from Nuremberg to Rome tribunals.
The presentation ended with a question and answer session, one participant asked why transnational crimes were not included in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and Dr Fiskatoris responded by saying that transnational crimes are of a different nature from the core crimes and there is an argument that they are of a lesser gravity than the core crimes contained in the Rome Statute, which are regarded as the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. He concluded that crimes that are included in the Rome Statute are based on customary international law, while transnational crimes are based on treaty law or referred to as treaty crimes.
The African Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice, which was formerly known as the South African-German Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice, undertake cutting-edge research in its research niche, train subject specialist and experts equipped with the necessary skills to work in the field of international criminal law, transitional justice, transnational organised crimes and related fields at a local, regional and international level. The Centre provides a platform for critical and engaged scholarship that responds to the myriad challenges confronting the African continent in a rapidly changing and interconnected world. Transnational Criminal Justice focuses on transnational organised crimes, international criminal law and transitional justice.
Dr Fiskatoris's presentation focused on the development of International Criminal Justice and touched on the following historical events: the Lampsacos Trial (405 BC); the Trial of Peter von Hagenbach (1474); the Anti-Slave-Trade Tribunals (1817-1871); the first draft in history for a permanent international criminal court (1872); the Paris Peace Treaties (1919); the Interwar Proposals (1920); the First Treaty about a Permanent International Criminal Court (1937); United Nations War Crimes Commission (UNWCC, 1943-1948); the Nuremberg (1945-1946) and Tokyo Trials (1946-1948); Genocide Convention (1948); the first projects of the International Law Commission (1951/1953); the Apartheid Convention (1973); the 1989 Trinidad and Tobago Proposal, the ad hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (1994/1995); and the Rome Conference (1998).
Dr Fiskatoris argued that, for most scholars, the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals are the birthplaces of International Criminal Justice, because Nuremberg and Tokyo had a significant turning point in the history of International Criminal Justice. However, the ancient and medieval international tribunals should not be excluded, which preceded Nuremberg and Tokyo in the discussion of historical narratives. Furthermore, Dr Fiskatoris stated that most International Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Textbooks tend to relegate the significance of early instances of International Criminal Justice and focus on the road from Nuremberg to Rome tribunals.
The presentation ended with a question and answer session, one participant asked why transnational crimes were not included in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and Dr Fiskatoris responded by saying that transnational crimes are of a different nature from the core crimes and there is an argument that they are of a lesser gravity than the core crimes contained in the Rome Statute, which are regarded as the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. He concluded that crimes that are included in the Rome Statute are based on customary international law, while transnational crimes are based on treaty law or referred to as treaty crimes.
