Crimes against humanity

Abstract

Crimes against humanity are the central category of international crimes in existing International Criminal Law. That means that their commission entails direct individual criminal responsibility under international law. Their regulation seeks to protect the most fundamental personal legal values such as life, physical integrity, health, freedom, etc., when they are attacked on a widespread or systematic way, through the policy of a State or an organization. But crimes against humanity attack simultaneously humanity as a whole and constitute a threat to international peace. Their first definition date back to the end of World War II (some authors refer to more remote precedents), but the current one, in art. 7 of the International Criminal Court Statute is the result of an important and gradual process of precise formulation and consolidation. In this development have played an important role the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and for Rwanda (ICTR).