2010/05/01 by Catriona Ida Macleod · 34 citations
Arts and Humanities · Neuroscience · Social Sciences · #Crimes against humanity #Criminology #Environmental ethics #Epistemology #Free Will and Agency #Humanity #International law #Law #Philosophy #Political Philosophy and Ethics #Political science #Sociology #War crime #War, Ethics, and Justification
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/ejil/chq031
published in European Journal of International Law 21(2), 281-302 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2010/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
In this article I discuss the nature of crimes against humanity. The various definitions that have been used, or alluded to, in the legal literature are outlined, and it is suggested that they fall neatly into two camps by interpreting ‘humanity’ differently. It is proposed that any theory which adequately captures the nature of this crime must distinguish it qualitatively from other ‘lower’ crimes, and that only members of one camp can do this. I go on to argue for one particular way of treating the crime – regarding it as a crime which hurts all humanity – and recommend adopting a view under which we would regard all humanity as one entity.