MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY

SEMESTER ASSIGNMENT

SUBJECT:
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW

Thread number 04: Analyze the concept of international

crime. Discuss on different types of international crimes from
different perspectives. Find out the differences between core
international crimes and transnational crimes.

FULL NAME : NGUYỄN THỊ HẢI ANH

ID : 423509
CLASS : N01 – TL3
GROUP : 01

Hanoi - 2020
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
A – HEADING ……………………………………………………………… 1
B – CONTENT……………………………………………………………… 1
I. The concept of international crime…………………………………... 1
1. The definition of international crimes………………………………1
2. Characteristics of international crimes…………………………….. 2
II. Discuss on different types of international crimes from different
perspectives………………………………………………………………….. 2
III. The differences between core international crimes and
transnational
crimes…………………………………………………………………………4
1. The concept of core international crimes and transnational
crimes………………………………………………………………………… 4
2. The differences between core international crimes and transnational
crimes………………………………………………………………………… 5
C. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………... 5
LIST OF REFERENCES ……………………………………………............. 6
A) HEADING
With the creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR),
the International Criminal Court (ICC) and several other internationalised or
hybrid criminal courts, international crimes have been prosecuted and the
concept of international crimes started developing and is still evolving as we
speak. More than six decades later, it has been generally agreed upon that
certain crimes, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the
crime of aggression are considered to have the status of ‘international crimes’. 

B) CONTENT
I. The concept of international crime
1. The definition of international crimes
A precise and widely agreed upon definition of ‘international crimes’ is
non-existent. Definitions of international crimes vary from author to author. In
1947, Wright described a crime against international law as “an act committed
with intent to violate a fundamental interest protected by international law or
with knowledge that the act will probably violate such an interest, and which
may not be adequately punished by the exercise of the normal criminal
jurisdiction of any state”. “The judges in the 1948 Hostages case characterised
an international crime as “such an act universally recognized as criminal, which
is considered a grave matter of international concern and for some valid reason
cannot be left within the exclusive jurisdiction of the state that would have
control over it under ordinary circumstances””1. In 1991, Orentlichter quoted
Dinstein’s views as follows, that “while international crimes typically are grave
offenses that “harm fundamental interests of the whole international
community,” an offense becomes an international crime only when defined as
such by positive international law”. Cassese’s 2003 handbook on international
criminal law explains that international crimes can be defined as “breaches of
1
http://www.internationalcrimesdatabase.org/Crimes/Introduction

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international rules entailing the personal criminal liability of the individuals
concerned (as opposed to the responsibility of the State of which the individuals
may act as organs).” More recently, ‘international crimes’ were defined as
“punishable acts or conduct proscribed by international law.” Thus the term
"crime" can be applied in an international context only by analogy; an
international crime can be, at best, an act which international law prohibits and
provides should be followed by consequences more or less closely analogous to
the proceedings and punishments that characterize the operation of domestic
criminal law.
2. Characteristics of international crimes
Crimes which violate or threaten fundamental values or interests
protected by international law and which are of concern to the international
community as a whole; Criminal norms emanating from an international treaty
or from customary international law, without requiring intermediate provision
of domestic law; Criminal norms which have direct binding force on individuals
and therefore provide for direct individual criminal responsibility; Crimes
which may be prosecuted before international or domestic criminal courts in
accordance with the principle of universal jurisdiction; A treaty provision or a
rule of customary international law establishing liability for an act as an
international crime binds all (or a great majority of) States and individuals.
II. Discuss on different types of international crimes from different
perspectives
International crimes can be divided between the so-called ‘core’ crimes
and the more controversial international crimes. With respect to the former
category, it is generally accepted that this label is ascribed to genocide, crimes
against humanity, the crime of aggression and war crimes. The more
controversial international crimes include terrorism, torture and piracy

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 “International crime also can be roughly divided into three general
heads:”2
The first general heading includes violations of international norms
directed toward restraining the conduct of state officials. Offenses within this
group may be said to constitute the classical international crimes or
international crimes in the narrow sense of the term. The prototypical offenses
under this heading are conventional war crimes. It also includes the two other
categories of crime prosecuted at Nuremberg: crimes against peace and crimes
against humanity. By extension, this heading would also include genocide, the
systematic use of torture by governments and, if one likes, apartheid.
The second heading includes the crimes associated with terrorist activities
that have been the subject of relatively recent conventions., These activities are
often referred to nowadays as "international crimes." Unlike those that fall
under the first head, the acts in question need not be committed directly by state
officials. The old offense of piracy, which is commonly termed an "international
crime," although usually for the wrong reason, is, in some respects, the
prototypical offense under this heading.
The third heading covers other acts of private individuals which have
been subjected to treaty prohibition because they involve international traffic or
harm to a mutual or common interest of states requiring international
cooperation for its effective suppression. This group of offenses might be called
international crimes in the broad sense of the term. The list of conduct
considered to constitute international crime is considerably expanded when this
third head is included. If "international crime" is understood in this broad sense,
the range of the concept becomes "very extensive and difficult to delimit”
One of the central problems confronting international criminal law is the
problem of imposing restraints on the conduct of those whom the modern state

2
Chromeextension://ohfgljdgelakfkefopgklcohadegdpjf/https://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.
cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2096&context=law-review

3
has cloaked with official authority. There is another basis on which the first
group, consisting of classical international crimes, is sometimes distinguished
from the other two groups of international crimes. The crimes in the first group,
especially conventional war crimes, are said to involve a direct violation of
international law by the individuals who commit them. With respect to war
crimes, international law is supposed to speak directly to individuals and oblige
them to refrain from engaging in proscribed forms of conduct. By contrast, the
international crimes encompassed within the other two groups do not involve
duties imposed by international law directly on the individual. Generally, the
only obligation imposed by treaty is that which requires a state to take steps
under its own law to punish individuals who engage in the conduct described.
The acts falling within the latter two groups are not directly proscribed by
international law. The offender is punished only for the breach of a provision of
municipal law implementing the treaty.

III. The differences between core international crimes and transnational

crimes
1. The concept of core international crimes and transnational crimes
The crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, known
collectively as core international crimes, threaten the peace, security and well-
being of our world. Under international law, the primary responsibility to
investigate and prosecute these heinous crimes falls on national authorities.
Transnational crimes are violations of law that involve more than one
country in their planning, execution, or impact. These offenses are distinguished
from other crimes in their multinational nature, which poses unique problems in
understanding their causes, developing prevention strategies, and in mounting
effective adjudication procedures. “Transnational crimes can be grouped into
three broad categories involving provision of illicit goods (drug trafficking,
trafficking in stolen property, weapons trafficking, and counterfeiting), illicit

4
services (commercial sex and human trafficking), and infiltration of business
and government (fraud, racketeering, money laundering, and corruption)
affecting multiple countries.”3
2. The differences between core international crimes and transnational
crimes
‘Core crimes’ are considered as ‘the most serious crimes of concern to the
international community as a whole’ . They are usually committed by organs of
the state or at least condoned by the state. And their perpetrators qualify for
being prosecuted and tried at a supranational level, by international criminal
courts and tribunals. Obviously, these criteria are inter-related. Core crimes
derive their heinous nature at least partially from the fact that the state, instead
of protecting its citizens, turns against its population.
Transnational crimes, on the other hand, display less systematic and
structured violence. Although they may have very nasty consequences for direct
victims, they are considered as ‘obnoxious’, rather than ‘very serious’. These
crimes are primarily committed by private actors and precisely for that reason
the state is generally perfectly capable and willing to start prosecutions.
International conventions serve to improve international cooperation, by
plugging jurisdictional and substantive legal gaps.
C) CONCLUSION
The foundations of international criminal law are based on three
fundamental precepts, namely ‘that international law recognizes individuals, not
merely as objects, but as subjects with rights and duties which it defines; that it
defines certain crimes for which individuals are liable; and that it distinguishes
this criminal liability from the civil responsibility of states under international
law’.

3
https://acil.uva.nl/content/events/conferences/2014/12/legal-responses-to-transnational-andinternational-crimes-
towards-an-integrative-approach.html?origin=nMBcXZyYTj2MGQ9fw4qmhg&cb

5
 LIST OF REFERENCES
1. http://www.internationalcrimesdatabase.org/Crimes/Introduction
2. https://acil.uva.nl/content/events/conferences/2014/12/legal-responses-to-
transnational-andinternational-crimes-towards-an-integrative-
approach.html?origin=nMBcXZyYTj2MGQ9fw4qmhg&cb
3. Chromeextension://ohfgljdgelakfkefopgklcohadegdpjf/https://via.library.
depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2096&context=l
aw-review