Criteria of mens rea in the International criminal court

Abstract

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its 30th article expresses the necessary elements of the culpability principle, in order to establish the judgement of mens rea of international crimes. The requirement of “Intent and Knowledge” in regard to the individual’s action refers to the knowledge of the conduct’s consequences, and the intention of performing the conduct to produce said consequences. Difficulties arise when determining under what circumstances can it be affirmed that, according to the normal course of events, the conduct will lead to such consequences. Furthermore, the function of the reservation clause implies the existence of other qualified culpability criteria that reflect in an expansion of the criminal liability field. Lastly, the author studies the grounds for excluding criminal responsibility in certain cases of mistakes.