Abstract:

In this paper the authors analyze individual elements of crimes against humanity and, in particular, tackles the question of whether this international crime has to be committed under the aegis of state or organizational policy. Although in case law of international ad hoc criminal tribunals it has been decided that for crimes against humanity it is sufficient to establish only the systematic or widespread nature of the attacks, the author believes that the element of policy in the background of the attack is a customary element of crimes against humanity, wrongly neglected in the practice of international ad hoc tribunals. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in Art. 7. para. 2. returns to the roots of this crime by explicitly stating that "an attack directed against a civilian population" means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of certain criminal offenses against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack. Yet, a number of issues have already arisen in practice. Therefore, this paper seeks to analyze at which level of government a policy needs to be adopted in order to be considered a state policy, which characteristics an organization should have to be considered a relevant policy maker, and what may be the substance of such a (criminal) policy.

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