Part III Thematic Chapters, C Accountability, 12 National trials of international crimes in 2014: prosecuting ‘refugees’ suspected of international crimes

Subject(s):

Military assistance — Armed conflict, international — Armed conflict, non-international — Humanitarian intervention — Armed forces

Over the past few years, there has been an increasing focus on initiating criminal proceedings against suspects of international crimes. This chapter is divided into two sections. First the chapter looks into the legal framework that applies in cases of suspects of international crimes found in the territory of a third state. Secondly, the chapter examines the different scenarios of what follows when a suspected criminal is denied refugee protection on the basis of 2014 developments. The host state needs to decide whether to extradite, prosecute, or deport the alleged perpetrator of international crimes. However, the state might not be able to do any of the above and so would be obligated to continue hosting the suspect.