AALS Symposium Program

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Session Type: AALS Symposiums

Session Capacity: N/A

Location: Marriott Marquis Washington, DC

Room: Marquis Salon 14

Floor: Level M2

Accountability Norms in Defense of Democratic Principles
International criminal accountability has played a fundamental role within global crises. Country leaders who order the commission of atrocities expose themselves to individual criminal responsibility before national, hybrid, and international criminal jurisdictions. Thus, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants against the former president of Sudan, Omar Al-Bashir, and most recently against Russian President Vladimir Putin. In addition, the ICC has engaged in preliminary examinations and investigations in the Philippines, in Colombia, and in the Rohingya situation. Other accountability mechanisms have existed around the world, in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Lebanon, Kosovo, and the Central African Republic, and may influence different countries toward more democratic forms of governance. Panelists will explore whether the very existence of the principle of international criminal responsibility and accountability may contribute to the defense of democratic principles throughout the world, by imposing accountability on those who commit atrocities and human rights violations, and by, in some situations, influencing successor regimes toward democratic governance and rule of law.