International Criminal Justice: Current Developments and Critical Perspectives - Detailseite

International criminal law, its institutions, and both international and domestic practices of its enforcement, have been subject to critique for some time now. Allegations of selectivity and double standards, the marginalization of gender-specific dimensions of macro-criminal violence, institutional racism, the dominance of retributive models of punishment, the persistence of colonial modes of thinking, and the neglect of structural violence all point to the diversity of critical approaches to international criminal law. Many observers diagnose a “crisis of international criminal law”.

At the same time, international criminal law continues to gain prominence. Not least the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have once again brought international criminal law to the attention of a broader public; the same holds true for the recent U.S. attack against Venezuela. Moreover, international criminal law's potential as a powerful “language” of emancipatory movements—particularly in the Global South—remains undiminished.

Both developments—the critical interrogation of international criminal law and its practice, as well as the public discussion of events through the vocabulary of international criminal law—are unfolding against the backdrop of an overarching dynamic of an international order that, in the view of many, is eroding.

The aim of this seminar is to explore and critically discuss some of these multifaceted developments through the lens of current debates, judicial decisions, and key texts.

All participants are expected to give an oral presentation. The presentation topics will be assigned at the beginning of the summer semester in a preliminary meeting. The date of this preliminary meeting for registered participants will be announced separately in the Moodle course (Möglichkeit zur vorausgehenden Studienarbeit).