Virtuous accomplices in international criminal law

Humanitarian actors sometimes have to decide whether to render assistance in situations that put them at risk of liability for aiding and abetting under international criminal law. This is the problem of the virtuous accomplice—the idea that knowingly contributing to the wrongdoing of others might,...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jackson, M
Format: Journal article
Published: Cambridge University Press 2019
_version_ 1826290593162067968
author Jackson, M
author_facet Jackson, M
author_sort Jackson, M
collection OXFORD
description Humanitarian actors sometimes have to decide whether to render assistance in situations that put them at risk of liability for aiding and abetting under international criminal law. This is the problem of the virtuous accomplice—the idea that knowingly contributing to the wrongdoing of others might, exceptionally, be the right thing to do. This article explains why the problem arises and clarifies its scope, before turning to criminal law in England and Wales and Germany to assess potential solutions. It argues that the best approach is to accept a defence of necessity—of justified complicity—and shows that such an argument works in international criminal law.
first_indexed 2024-03-07T02:46:34Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:ac3e7a03-b83e-4b54-a65f-4b05e02022fb
institution University of Oxford
last_indexed 2024-03-07T02:46:34Z
publishDate 2019
publisher Cambridge University Press
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:ac3e7a03-b83e-4b54-a65f-4b05e02022fb2022-03-27T03:27:33ZVirtuous accomplices in international criminal lawJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:ac3e7a03-b83e-4b54-a65f-4b05e02022fbSymplectic Elements at OxfordCambridge University Press2019Jackson, MHumanitarian actors sometimes have to decide whether to render assistance in situations that put them at risk of liability for aiding and abetting under international criminal law. This is the problem of the virtuous accomplice—the idea that knowingly contributing to the wrongdoing of others might, exceptionally, be the right thing to do. This article explains why the problem arises and clarifies its scope, before turning to criminal law in England and Wales and Germany to assess potential solutions. It argues that the best approach is to accept a defence of necessity—of justified complicity—and shows that such an argument works in international criminal law.
spellingShingle Jackson, M
Virtuous accomplices in international criminal law
title Virtuous accomplices in international criminal law
title_full Virtuous accomplices in international criminal law
title_fullStr Virtuous accomplices in international criminal law
title_full_unstemmed Virtuous accomplices in international criminal law
title_short Virtuous accomplices in international criminal law
title_sort virtuous accomplices in international criminal law
work_keys_str_mv AT jacksonm virtuousaccomplicesininternationalcriminallaw