Editorial

• Author: Benjamin Thompson
• Position: Editor-in-chief, Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, UK
• Pages: 1-3

Benjamin Thompson, ‘Editorial’ (2014) 30(79) Utrecht Journal of

International and European Law 1, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/

ujiel.ck

It is my pleasure, as editor-in-chief of Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, to present our

79th issue on General International and European Law. This is our second ‘General’ issue1 and does not have

a specific theme as many previous issues have had. However, one binding element of all these publications,

and one that Utrecht Journal endeavours to deliver in all its publications, is their strong relevance to the

most important issues in international law today, as well their unique contribution to academic debates

surrounding them.

On July 17, one week prior to the time of writing, a commercial flight heading from Amsterdam to Kuala

Lumpur was shot down by a surface-to-air-missile over Eastern Ukraine. 298 people on board, including 193

Dutch passengers, lost their lives. In the week following this tragic event, various issues have come to the

forefront of political discourse including actions to be taken regarding Russian arms companies that alleg-

edly supplied the military equipment used2 including Rosoboronexport, the sole state intermediary agency

for Russia’s exports and imports of arms.3

Rosoboronexport is used as a case study by Caspar Plomp in his article ‘Aiding and abetting: The

responsibility of business leaders under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.’ Plomp

looks at whether business leaders may be held accountable for the involvement of their companies in

international crimes at the International Criminal Court (‘the ICC’) using Rosoboronexport’s actions in Syria

as a case study. He draws attention to the fact that, historically, international criminal law tribunals have

overlooked the involvement of businesses and other economic actors in armed conflict. To date, the ICC, has

never charged anyone for acts they have committed in their capacity as business leaders. The article provides

a detailed explanation of the roles of aiding and abetting, actus reus and mens rea within international

criminal law. Drawing on the Rome Statute and the jurisprudence of the ICC, as well as the jurisprudence of

the ad hoc criminal tribunals, Plomp concludes that the awareness required to be convicted for the purpose

of facilitating a crime should not be direct intent, but should be oblique intent in common law terminology

or direct intent in the second degree in civil law terminology. Plomp then applies his conclusions to the

role of business leader of Rosoboronexport, Mr Isaikin, concluding that even if this standard were adopted

and Russia were party to the Rome Statute, it would be very difficult to secure a conviction under current

international law. He concludes that ‘the project of international law continues to be largely incapable of

holding economic actors accountable for their contributions to armed conflict and human rights violations.

It is time for this to change.’

‘Aiding and abetting: The responsibility of business leaders under the Rome Statute of the International

Criminal Court,’ adds another perspective to the broad array of research articles that Utrecht Journal of

International and European Law has published on the subject of holding businesses accountable for human

1 To view Utrecht Journal of International and European Law’s previous General issue please visit: http:/ /www.utrechtjournal.org/

issue/view/6.

2 ‘Zuidas link to Russian missile maker likely behind MH17 crash’ DutchNews (21 July 2014) http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/

archives/2014/07/zuidas_link_to_russian_missile.php last accessed 27 July 2014).

3 See for instance, the controversies over a recent deal between France and Russia to provide Rosoboronexport with two helicopter

carriers (‘France rejects UK censure of Russia deal’ PressTV, (24 July 2014) http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/24/372558/

france-rejects-uk-censure-of-russia-deal last accessed 27 July 2014).

Editorial

Benjamin Thompson1

1 Editor-in-chief, Utrecht Journal of International and European Law, UK

utrechtjournal@urios.org

UTRECHT JOURNAL OF

INTERNATIONAL AND EUROPEAN LAW