The Legal Findings of Crimes Against Humanity in the Al-Dujail Judgments of the Iraqi High Tribunal: A Forerunner for the Icc?

Abstract

The Iraqi High Tribunal's (IHT) trial-and-appeal judgments in Al-Dujail against Saddam Hussein et al. contain surprisingly detailed findings in international criminal law dogmatic, particularly regarding the elements of crimes against humanity. Since the statutory legal basis of crimes against humanity on which Al-Dujail is grounded is close to identical to its ICC counterpart set forth in Article 7 of the ICC Statute, the interpretations brought forward by the IHT might be of high relevance for future interpretation of Article 7 of the ICC Statute. This article discusses possibilities and limits thereof. Particular focus has been set on the problems of what shall be meant by “multiple” commissions of acts set forth in the legal definition of “attack”, and what level of mens rea shall be required for “murder” as a crime against humanity.