Pages: 12

This chapter introduces the book and situates it within the broader scholarship on international criminal law. It briefly expands on the three distinct elements of the book: strategic litigation, corporate accountability, and Third World Approaches to International Law, and lays down how these three elements engage with each other in the following chapters. The chapter also describes the research methodology and structure of the book.

Pages: 86

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 31

This chapter lays down the framework that forms the basis to analyse the practice of strategic litigation throughout the book. The framework is derived from Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). The first section of the chapter describes the nature of scholarship that falls under the broad label of TWAIL, and discusses its evolution and ambitions in the context of public international law. The second section of the chapter discusses the scope and need of a TWAIL engagement with international criminal law. Finally, in the third section, the chapter identifies four key concerns of TWAIL and transposes these concerns to international criminal law, referred to here as Third World Approaches to International (Criminal) Law or TWAI(C)L.

Pages: 17

The chapter explores what does it mean to engage in strategic litigation, particularly in the context of international criminal law. While underlining the inherently political nature of the term ‘strategic litigation’ (Section I), the chapter places importance on two key features of strategic legal interventions: they combine legal action with extra-legal activities outside the courtroom (Section II); and they aim at reforming the system instead of being an exercise of repair that maintains and supports the status quo (Section III). The discussion in this chapter is intended to be the standard-setting framework for the subsequent practice analysis.

Pages: 36

This chapter discusses the thematic focus of the book, i.e. corporate complicity in crimes under international law. The first section pinpoints the missed opportunities during the Nuremberg trials on the question of corporate accountability, which led to a substantial accountability gap in international criminal law. The second section lays down the current state of the norm on corporate responsibility under international criminal law. The third section presents a broad overview of the forms of participation in crimes under international law that can attract liability for corporate misconduct.

Pages: 152

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 49

This chapter deals with the practice of an Argentinian organization called Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) and their attempts to address corporate complicity in the crimes committed by the last military dictatorship (1976–1983) in Argentina. Section I lays down the systematic involvement of corporations in the crimes and discusses why was accountability for economic actors important in Argentina. Section II deals with the missing dimension of corporate accountability in transitional justice contexts and the nature of transitional justice process in Argentina which eventually led to some measure of accountability for economic actors. Section III discusses the critical role played by CELS in the transitional justice process in Argentina as well as their strategic legal interventions in so far as they engage with international criminal law. Finally, Section IV describes in great detail the case against managers of Ford Motors who were held accountable for their complicity in crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship in Argentina. The chapter also discusses the legal and practical issues arising in such cases.

Pages: 49

This chapter explores the use of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) to seek accountability for war crimes committed by US private military contractors during the Iraq war. The chapter begins with a discussion on CCR and its strategic litigation practice, including their representation of Guantánamo Bay detainees. The second section tracks the journey of ATS before various courts in the United States and its narrowing scope with each successive judgment. Section III discusses their ongoing case against CACI International Inc. and CACI Premier Technology. In this case, CCR is representing Iraqi nationals who were subjected to torture, cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment, and other war crimes while in detention in the Abu Ghraib detention facility during the Iraq war. This case, embedded in the broader anti-Iraq war movement, highlighted the costs of privatization of war and the resulting accountability gap. The final section discusses the obstacles in using a civil law framework against corporations for violations amounting to crimes under international law.

Pages: 52

This chapter explores strategic litigation seeking corporate accountability through extraterritorial prosecutions in Europe. The first section discusses the current practice and trends of universal jurisdiction and extraterritorial prosecutions. The second section foregrounds the collaborative nature of strategic litigation in these situations and is centred on the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which challenges the double standards of European states in the implementation of international criminal law. The third section deals with one of their legal interventions that has led to a parent corporation in France being charged with complicity in crimes against humanity for the conduct of its subsidiary outside of Europe. The case study focuses on criminal proceedings against the global cement leader, Lafarge Holcim, and the role played by ECCHR and Paris-based organization, Sherpa in this case. The final section of the chapter discusses legal and practical challenges peculiar to extraterritorial prosecutions against corporations for crimes committed in third countries.

Pages: 18

No chapter abstract available.

Pages: 16

This chapter presents a general conclusion to the book and brings together the three case studies discussed in Part II in the context of the thematic and analytical framework set out in Part I. It lays down the key findings derived from the cases with respect to strategic litigation and corporate accountability and how they address some of the concerns of Third World Approaches to International (Criminal) Law. Finally, the chapter also discusses the implications of the practice of strategic litigation organizations as delineated in the case studies more broadly for the international criminal justice system.