VIOLATION OF RULES OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW AND THE SYSTEM OF CRIMINAL SANCTIONS

JOVAŠEVIĆ Dragan (Prof. dr Dragan Jovašević, redovni profesor Pravnog fakulteta Univerziteta u Nišu, Niš), jovas@prafak.ni.ac.rs

Violation of rules of international humanitarian law during the war or armed conflict creates the need for the application of certain types and measures of criminal sanctions against perpetrators of the most serious crimes against international law in accordance with appropriate judicial procedures. Both – national as well as international judicial systems are familiar with various types of criminal sanctions prescribed by relevant legal sources. This paper discusses the characteristics of these international crimes and sanctions and the preconditions for their application. The application of these criminal sanctions requires that the existence of elements of a particular criminal offence against international law and of the guilt on behalf of the adult perpetrator of such an offence has previously been confirmed.

Keywords: international law, crime, court, responsibility, criminal sanction