The United States Institute of Peace’s Rule of Law Program, in cooperation with the the Irish Centre for
Human Rights (ICHR), the UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC), has recently announced the publication of a new Model Criminal Code,(
Volume I) that is designed to work as a Model Code for Post-Conflict Criminal Justice (Download mc_flyer.pdf
). This volume is the first product of this joint international project and, as announced by the USIP, the second and third volumes
will appear in fall 2007 and spring 2008. The first volume starts with a User’s Guide
that explains the development, purpose, and content of the book, and
then lays out a comprehensive Model Criminal Code. The code is divided
into two parts: a “General Part” that contains general principles of
criminal law and penalties, and a “Special Part” that presents a
catalog of criminal offenses, including those such as sexual offenses,
organized crime, and corruption that are particularly common or
destabilizing in post-conflict environments.The
Model Codes project has been in the works for 5 years and was
spearheaded by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the
Irish Centre for Human Rights (ICHR), in collaboration with the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Hans-Joerg Albrecht, the director of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Germany, and Goran Klemencic, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security Studies at the University of Maribor, Slovenia have also actively participated in this project. The Model Codes consists of the contribution of some 300 legal scholars and practitioners worldwide from various legal traditions and addresses the basic provisions meeting international standards that could be included into a criminal code for a post-conflict country. Each provision is accompanied by a useful commentary that lays out the underlying principles and uses for the article.
In the introduction of book one reads that "The Model Criminal Code is intended to be a guide, and to be adapted and tailored as appropriate to individual countries undertaking legal reform. It is a tool that can be used by national and international actors to create, overhaul, update or plug gaps in the criminal laws in individual states."
The contents of the book is as below:
- Foreword - Louise Arbour and Antonio Maria Costa
- Preface - Neil Kritz and William Schabas
- Users Guide
- Introduction
- The Model Codes Project: A Response to Post-Conflict Criminal Law Needs
- Potential Uses of the Model Codes in a Criminal Law Reform Process
- A Synopsis of the Model Criminal Code
- Guiding Principles for the Criminal Law Reform Process
- Part I: General Part
- Definitions
- Fundamental Principles
- Jurisdiction
- Ne Bis in Idem Statutory Limitations
- Time and Place of Commission of a Criminal Offense
- Criminal Offense, Criminal Responsibility, and Commission of a Criminal Offense
- Criminal Responsibility of Legal Persons
- Justification and Excusal of Criminal Responsibility
- Criminal Attempt
- Participation in a Criminal Offense
- Penalties
- Confiscation of the Proceeds of Crime and Property
- Dispositions Applicable to Juveniles and Adults on Trial for Criminal Offenses Committed as Juveniles
- Part II: Special Part
- Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, and War Crimes
- Offenses against Life and Limb
- Sexual Offenses
- Offenses against the Rights of Persons
- Offenses against Children
- Property Offenses
- Economic Offenses
- Organized Crime Offenses
- Corruption Offenses
- Corruption-Related Offenses and Other Offenses Involving a Public Official
- Offenses against the State, Public Safety, and Security
- Offenses against United Nations and Associated Personnel
- Offenses Involving Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, and Weapons
- Drugs Offenses
- Election Offenses
- Cybercrime Offenses
- Offenses against the Administration of Justice
- Index
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