The doctrine of Joint Criminal Enterprise in the legal framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PDF)

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2015 in the subject Law - Miscellaneous, grade: A+, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, language: English, abstract: The relatively new doctrine of criminal liability presented through the concept of a Joint Criminal Enterprise (JCE) is a very contradictory one. It has played a crucial role in the allocation of guilt in international criminal tribunals within which it has been developed and has evolved. This theory of individual liability goes to the core of what international criminal trial seeks to achieve. At the same time, the concept of JCE is criticized by some scholars as well as by defence attorneys. It is often characterized as the most complex and most challenging theory in international criminal law. This thesis will analyse how different courts have coped with this new form of criminal liability, with a special focus on attempting to answer whether this form of criminal liability should, could or must be applied in the Court of BiH in comparison with other forms of liability.

This thesis is divided into four main parts. The First part will review the origins and development of Joint Criminal Enterprise, common law tenets, the logic of common law and the notion of customary law and the position of JCE in international customary law. Then, the second section proceeds to the development of the concept of a Joint Criminal Enterprise through an overview of key, relevant historical facts. The third part considers the application of the JCE in other international tribunals including the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), the Special Court for Cambodia (Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia - ECCC), and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). In conclusion, there is a discussion on The Court of BiH and application of this form of criminal liability with a targeted analysis of selected cases.