International Criminal Law

International Criminal Law

Criminalization of Incitement to Commit a Crime in Common Law, Codified Law and International Criminal Court

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Associate Professor of Criminal Law, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.
10.22034/iclj.2026.534493.1151
Abstract
In common law, mere incitement to commit a crime is a crime, while in the Codified legal system and countries subordinate to it, such as France and Iran, usually incitement to commit a crime is not a crime unless the incited person commits the crime in question. In this case, only aiding in the crime occurs. In the Statute of the International Criminal Court, the incitement of specific audiences to commit international crimes and on the condition that the main crime is committed, will be subject to the rules of accessory to the crime. However, in a stricter stance, public and explicit incitement to Genocide, regardless of whether the main crime occurs or not, is an independent crime and outside the rules of accessory to crime. The question is, what are the theoretical bases of the differences in the position of these three systems, as well as the dual position of the statute of the court regarding the accessory to crime and incitement? In this article, this question will be answered with descriptive analytical method.
Keywords

Volume 3, Issue 4
Autumn 2025
Pages 1-13

  • Receive Date 06 April 2025
  • Revise Date 13 June 2025
  • Accept Date 23 July 2025