International Criminal Law

International Criminal Law

Humanitarian Soft Law in Light of the Practice of International Criminal Courts

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Law, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. (Corresponding Author
2 Master's student in Private Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
The speed of events and decision-making in the world increased sharply after the industrial revolution, and especially with the entry into the information age and new technologies. Also, despite the unfortunate events that occurred in the first half of the twentieth century during the world wars, the need for international legal protection of human beings, especially during wars and armed conflicts, had become an international concern. What emerged during the handling of cases in the international criminal courts was that the existing strict norms do not have sufficient capacity to respond to the needs of subjects of international humanitarian law. The findings of the present study, which was conducted using library resources and a descriptive-analytical method, indicate that the practice of international criminal courts has a suitable capacity for creating international humanitarian norms and, given that the practice of these courts is not considered one of the traditional sources of Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, it should be considered among the norms of international humanitarian soft law. It seems that the practice of international criminal courts has led to the development of international humanitarian soft law norms by elevating ordinary norms to mandatory rules, being an interpretative tool, providing auxiliary resources for extracting international humanitarian norms, guiding judicial practice, and creating alignment between international criminal courts.
Keywords

Volume 2, Issue 2
Spring 2024
Pages 1-16

  • Receive Date 02 February 2024
  • Revise Date 04 April 2024
  • Accept Date 08 May 2024