Command Responsibility

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INTRODUCTION
1.2. Structure
Section 1 establishes the structure and methodology adopted in these Guidelines. It also
includes a glossary of key terms.
Section 2 introduces the definitions of command responsibility found in international legal
instruments. It does so in a comparative way, using the definition of ICC Art.28(a) to elucidate
the different approaches towards the criminal responsibility of commanders and superiors
in international law. The section also provides a comparative chart of these classifications,
using the six legal requirements and twelve components of command responsibility defined
in ICC Art.28(a). This draws on the Legal Requirements Framework, the methodological
structure that underpins the Case Matrix Digests 10 and the Core International Crimes
Database. 11
Section 3 provides an introduction to the adjudication and development of command
responsibility in the jurisprudence of the international criminal tribunals.
Sections 4 to 9 provide a guide to the international case law on command responsibility.
It includes quotations from international(ised) criminal tribunals and courts and publicists’
commentaries on the material and mental elements of command responsibility, according to
the legal requirements framework of ICC Art.28(a). Section 6 to 13 is a substantially revised
and updated edition of the Case Matrix Digests.
Section 10 includes the index of the international cases and publicists, which have been
cited.
1.3. Methodology
In order to provide a succinct overview of the definition and application of command
responsibility, the research methods of these Guidelines is largely comparative. A large
amount of data has been collected and assessed, including decisions and judgments of
international tribunals and articles and books of leading publicists. Selectivity has been
necessary in order to maintain a succinct, rather than exhaustive collection: as such, the
most emblematic judicial decisions, judgments and publicists’ commentaries at the time
of writing have been included. This section introduces the methodologies and selections of
sources that have been employed.
These Guidelines form part of a Case Mapping, Selection and Prioritisation Toolkit designed
for use in Colombia and of the Case Analysis Toolkit. It was prepared by the Case Matrix
Network (CMN), a department of the Centre for International Law Research and Policy
(CILRAP), which is an international non-profit organisation.
10 See the ICC Case Matrix page of the CMN website, and Morten Bergsmo (ed) Active Complementarity: Legal Information Transfer, Torkel Opsahl Academic
EPublisher, 2011.
11 See the CMN ICJ Toolkits Project Blog.
CMN ICJ Toolkits Project
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