Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Διεθνές και Ευρωπαϊκό ΔίκαιοLibrary of the School of Law
Supervisors info:
Georgios Triantafyllou, Associate Professor
Original Title:
Arms trade and war crimes : criminal responsibility of arms suppliers as a form of expressive justice and deterrence
Translated title:
Arms trade and war crimes : criminal responsibility of arms suppliers as a form of expressive justice and deterrence
Summary:
An array of individual and collective rights protected by international human rights and
humanitarian law are impacted by irresponsible (but legal) arms transfers, every day. While
several domestic and international arms trade regulations have been adopted to mitigate irresponsible arms sales, the pre-emptive nature, limited legal substance, and ineffective
enforcement of these regulations has left a significant accountability gap in the arms
industry1
. This has enabled unchecked flow of weapons and facilitated atrocities across the
world with impunity.2
This thesis posits that in the prevailing context of low accountability, International criminal
law, on the basis of principles of accomplice liability, is a viable tool for the regulation of
arms trade and provision of justice for victims of war crimes caused by irresponsible arms
trade. The thesis draws on the legal precedent from the Nuremberg trials, and other past and
ongoing cases in international and national jurisdictions to demonstrate that corporate
officers, sole-trading shipping agents and arms brokers may be criminally liable if - and
where - it is established that they transferred arms in deliberate disregard of the fact that
war crimes were being committed with the arms they supplied. The thesis analyses the mens
rea and actus reus (standard of causation) in cases of complicity in war crimes, addressing
the question of what the degree of causation should be for aiding and abetting liability of
arms suppliers whose weapons have assisted in the commission of war crimes.
The thesis suggests that criminal liability of corporate officers and arms suppliers is
imperative to capture the full range of war crimes committed in armed conflicts, ensure
accountability and break the cycle of irresponsible arms exports.
Main subject category:
Law and Legislation
Other subject categories:
International Law
European law
Keywords:
War crimes, justice, arms trade.
