The Role of International Criminal Policy in Combating International Crimes and Promoting Criminal Justice

Abstract

This study examines the growing role of international criminal policy in addressing the gravest crimes threatening international peace and security, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. It argues that the effectiveness of international criminal justice depends not only on the existence of criminal norms and tribunals, but also on a coherent international criminal policy that guides criminalization, prosecution, international cooperation, accountability, and reparations. The study shows that international criminal policy has evolved from a purely punitive logic to a preventive and complementary approach based on complementarity between domestic and international jurisdictions, inter-state cooperation, capacity building, evidence preservation, and victim/witness protection. The study concludes that international criminal policy constitutes the practical framework that gives international criminal law its effectiveness, and that its success depends on political will, judicial independence, and the development of cooperation and accountability mechanisms. The strategic foundations for combating organized crime—which has become a national and regional security issue in many parts of the world—lie in the international community's response to rapidly evolving developments. This response involves fostering cooperation frameworks among governments and law enforcement agencies and establishing global legal standards. It is further exemplified by the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which serves as a strategic framework to assist states in addressing the problem at local and regional levels and to establish a cooperative international mechanism for combating it. Consequently, various international laws and agreements now aim to curb and eradicate organized crime.