Do Crimes Against Humanity Require the Participation of a State or a ‘State-like’ Organization?

摘要

Under Article 7(2)(a) of the ICC Statute, crimes against humanity require that a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population be committed ‘pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack’. The interpretation of the term ‘organization’, in particular, is controversial. The authors advocate the view that the term should be understood to reflect the ordinary meaning of the concept: it includes any association of persons with an established structure. Systematic as well as teleological reasons argue against limiting the term to ‘state-like’ organizations.