This lecture is part of the Current Legal Problems Lecture Series 2021-22
The Perils of Progressive Jurisprudence:
The Nullum Crimen Sine Lege Principle in International Criminal Law
Speaker: Professor Payam Akhavan (Massey College, University of Toronto)
Chair: Elizabeth Wilmshurst CMG (Distinguished Fellow, Chatham House)
About this lecture
Expansive interpretations of human rights and humanitarian law are celebrated by progressive jurists as a welcome shift from positivist State-centric notions towards a more equitable human-centric international law. In the context of criminal justice however, the nullum crimen sine lege principle – codified in Article 22 of the ICC Statute – requires strict construction of the definition of crimes and prohibits either retroactive application or extension by analogy. It is apparent that for the most part, international criminal jurisdictions – from the IMT at Nürnberg to the ICTY-ICTR and ICC – have failed to exercise such judicial restraint.