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Abstract

The thesis explores the emerging role of interstate adjudication in the pursuit of accountability for atrocity crimes in the 21st century. These crimes are defined as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. This developing role has raised the question of its broader implications for international criminal justice. The thesis answers two central research questions. First, what are the implications of the interstate adjudication of atrocity crimes for international criminal justice. Second, to what extent can interstate adjudication add value to existing judicial avenues for redressing atrocity crimes at the international level.

To answer these questions, the thesis conducts a case study analysis of three emblematic cases: The Gambia v Myanmar (genocide proceedings before the International Court of Justice), Ukraine and the Netherlands v Russia (allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity before the European Court of Human Rights), and Palestine v Israel (alleged racial discrimination and crimes against humanity before the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination). These case studies were selected to reflect diverse institutional frameworks, legal bases, and political contexts in which atrocity crimes are litigated between states.

The thesis uses desk-based research to implement a case study methodology, and evaluate the procedural innovations, legal arguments, and symbolic functions of interstate litigation in cases of atrocity crimes. It demonstrates that, while not a substitute for individual criminal responsibility, interstate adjudication can serve as a complementary and strategically significant avenue for accountability. The thesis further utilises the aims of international criminal justice as an analytical framework to situate interstate adjudication amongst contemporary legal mechanisms addressing atrocity crimes at the international level. This is a significant contribution to international criminal justice when individual prosecutions are not viable due to geopolitical or jurisdictional hurdles.

The thesis concludes by arguing that interstate adjudication deserves greater recognition as a meaningful component of the international criminal justice ecosystem. It advances the expressivist aims of international criminal justice as a framework for understanding how states may engage international legal mechanisms to challenge impunity, affirm shared values, and reassert common interests in response to atrocity crimes. It contributes to norm reinforcement, the expression of collective condemnation, victim recognition, and the preservation of legal narratives. This field is rapidly developing in the face of a changing landscape of international criminal law and will continue to be relevant with future cases and conventions, as well as considerations on the evolving interrogation of evidence.

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JX International law K Law K Law > KZ Law of Nations
Departments:	The City Law School The City Law School > The City Law School Doctoral Theses Doctoral Theses

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