Legal Analysis and Issue of the Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity

‘Crimes against humanity’ refer to inhumane acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic assault against civilian populations, with knowledge of such attacks. Unlike genocide and war crimes, crimes against humanity have evolved through complex historical developments, and it is only recently that efforts have emerged to establish a consistent legal framework for them. This is a key reason why, despite their importance, crimes against humanity have not yet been codified into a treaty. Recently, the International Law Commission(ILC) has begun addressing new challenges regarding crimes against humanity. The international community recognizes that crimes against humanity are not merely legal concepts for the International Criminal Court; it also aims to enable individual countries to prosecute these crimes domestically and to achieve effective prevention and punishment through a dual network of national enforcement and international cooperation. This paper first presents the significance of crimes against humanity (Section II). It then analyses the provisions of the ILC’s Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity (ILC draft articles) and evaluates their meaning within the framework of international criminal law (Section III). The ILC draft articles stipulate that, if a state detains a suspect of crimes against humanity and chooses to prosecute them domestically, subsequent procedures must be conducted under that state’s national criminal and procedural laws. However, if international standards for preventing and punishing crimes against humanity remain unclear and uncertain, the objectives of the ILC draft articles --- effective investigation, prosecution and punishment of crimes against humanity --- will not be realized in practice. Therefore, focusing on Article 6, this paper discusses issues requiring review and improvements needed to more effectively fulfill states’ obligations regarding crimes against humanity (Section IV).