Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes

Abstract

This chapter focuses China’s concerns towards the definition of the crimes against humanity and war crimes under the ICC’s jurisdiction. It examines whether under customary international law a nexus to armed conflict needed to be included in the definition of the crimes against humanity and the scope of war crimes should be restricted to international armed conflict as insisted by China. This chapter also discusses whether China is a persistent objector in the formation of these customary norms, and whether the rapid developments of certain fields of customary law have caused the Chinese concerns regarding the core crimes less robust than was originally the case.