The power of words — on how the definitions of crimes in international criminal law lie at the crossroads of semiotics and manifest evil
Journal Title: Studia Politicae Universitatis Silesiensis - Year 2016, Vol 17, Issue
Abstract
Legal language is paradoxical: it is both open to interpretation and strict, often broad in meaning and specific in semantic content at the same time. Moreover, the legal language of criminal law is a reflection of axiological and moral values and assessments. The paper embraces that paradox and discusses two issues that stem from it in relation to international criminal law: the semantic challenges inherent in legal language pertaining to atrocity crimes and the entwined evolution of their criminal legal definitions. Its outset is the realization, that while the application of law by a court is predominantly an linguistic exercise, it must also provide specific, clear and axiologically sound solutions, absolutely necessary in the process of ascertaining the criminal responsibility of the individual. This phenomenon is especially evident in the legal language relating to international crimes, as it faces not only the challenge of being a strict definition of a crime, and thus bound to be clear and precise; it also must contend with the need to express manifest evil, as international crimes are often and rightly viewed as being singular in their heinousness. In eight parts, this article strives to present the challenges and evolution of the aforementioned issues.
Authors and Affiliations
Tomasz Iwanek
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP291213
- DOI -
- Views 93
- Downloads 0
Charakterystyka wyborów samorządowych w Polsce Characteristic of local government elections in Poland
PL W niniejszym artykule przedstawiono zmiany w systemie wyborczym obowiązującym w wyborach samorządowych. Charakteryzując wybory samorządowe w Polsce, skupiono się na kilku istotnych aspektach: współwystępowaniu trzech...
Robert W. McChesney: Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy. New York-London: The New Press, 2013, ss. 364
McChesney jest profesorem zatrudnionym na Wydziale Komunikowania Uniwersytetu Illinois, autorem kilku prac z zakresu teorii mediów, między innymi Rich Media, Poor Democracy. Communication Politics in Dubious Times (1989)...
Środki ochrony konstytucyjnych praw i wolności
Remedies for the protection of constitutional rights and freedoms The only way for human and citizens’ rights and freedoms indicated by Chapter II of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland to be fully realized is pro...
Nieodpłatne audycje wyborcze w publicznym radiu jako narzędzie komunikowania polskich partii politycznych w kampaniach wyborczych
The purpose of the present paper is to show how the Polish political parties utilize free election broadcasts in the process of political communication during election campaigns. The research material was free election b...
Komunistyczna Partia Polski dziś. KPP jako przykład partii marginalnej Communist Party of Poland today. CPP as an example of marginal party
PL Artykuł poświęcony jest współczesnej Komunistycznej Partii Polski — jej celom i kierunkom działania, a nade wszystko temu, w jaki sposób nawiązuje do przeszłości, jak traktuje spuściznę organizacji, do których się odw...