Forms Of National Criminal Responsibility

This paper takes the view that nation undertakes international criminal responsibility. Essentially criminal responsibility is the society self-defense. It punishes criminals to defend its self-safe and fundamental values. The punisher may be the nation, representative of the political society and may be one organ who executes the punishment according with the prevailingly social notions about the society fundamental values. This notion has been acknowledged and confirmed by the international law, according to which the war, aggression or threaten is the international crime and is to results in international criminal responsibility. Thereinto the individual international criminal responsibility is executed by the International Criminal Court, and the national criminal responsibility is executed by the United Nations presently.Traditionally the conception that criminal responsibility depends on the vertical society is employed in the reasoning of nation criminal responsibility. This paper argues that it is wrong on the methods. This conception summarizes the features of criminal law when it develops into the political society, which whereas is not the correct summary of the phenomena in international society.The contents of this paper are as follows:Chapter One: Prefaces. In this chapter, two basic conceptions concerning this paper, the national responsibility and the international law, are explained. The point-view that national criminal responsibility should be discussed under the international law paradigm is focused.Chapter Two: Present Studies of International Criminal Responsibility. Firstly the history of individual international criminal responsibility is depicted. By contrary, national criminal responsibility is held back by the concerning heated theoretical disputes. Secondly the bifurcations of these disputes are described. The objectors state that according to the principle of"Nullum crimen sine lege, Nullapoena sine lege", criminal responsibility only exits in the vertical-structure society. Because the international society is parallel, national criminal responsibility does not exit in it. This paper argues that this reasoning is wrong, because the principle of"Nullum crimen sine lege, Nullapoena sine lege"can not be applied in international society.Chapter Three: Principle of"Nullum crimen sine lege, Nullapoena sine lege", History and Applicability. The history and applicable conditions of this principle are described to prove that it is only applied to the political society, and can not be employed in the international law paradigm.Chapter Four: Nature of Criminal Responsibility. The history of criminal responsibility from primitive society to political society is depicted in this chapter to explore the nature of criminal responsibility. This paper figures that the nature of criminal responsibility is: It is against the crime; it is executed by the organization authorized by society; and it is punishment.Chapter Five: Forms of National Criminal Responsibility. Firstly the history of war, the typical form of punishment to nations is pictured to examine what punishment to nations is criminal responsibility and who is up to execute it. From the point of view of this paper the punishment to nations which violate the jus cogens to launch wars, aggression etc. is criminal responsibility. The United Nations is the international authoritative organizations and court executing national criminal responsibility.