INVESTIGATING THE INTERNATIONALISATION OF TRANSNATIONAL ORGANISED CRIMES

Back to Page Authors: Abdelnaser Jahani

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Keywords: organised crimes, international crimes, International Criminal Court, Jurisdiction

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Abstract: It has recently been noticed that there has been an increase in transnational organized crimes, particularly drug trafficking, smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons, while there are international conventions that have been concluded to combat such crimes. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime is a case of point. However, many perpetrators of such crimes have gone unpunished for such crimes, and this is because of that these international conventions may appear to be ineffective in reducing these organized crimes. These conventions might contain substantive or procedural defects, or that States parties to these conventions are unwilling or unable to implement them. Therefore, this article examines the possibility of extending the jurisdiction of the ICC to cover such transnational organized crimes. In principle, this is not a simple process. Such transnational crimes must meet a certain objective and procedural legal standards relating to international crimes. In addition, it should be there a real willing by the international community to expand the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. On the other hand, if these difficulties prevent the expansion of the ICC's jurisdiction, is it possible to interpret the international crimes set forth in the Statute of the International Criminal Court (such as crimes against humanity) to cover transnational organized crimes such as terrorism and trafficking in persons? This article will address these legal problems referred to above as well as challenges that may hinder the internationalization of transnational organized crimes.

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