Midterm
Part A. Application Exercise the three questions that follow. Read the following description about a conflict between Arcadia and Borduria, and answer Arcadia and Borduria are neighboring countries. They have a common national, ethnic. and religious background, but are divided by political differences. Arcadia is a democracy. Borduria is a monarchy. Arcadia and Borduria have been at war since November 2022 Th Borduria invaded and occupied a contested strip of land rich i* e war stalled aft’ Arcadia’s side of the border. Thousands of Arcadian civilians—mostlyura’ resources on and their families—remain under Bordurian occupation. Bordurian to take back the land since March. already begun extracting the natural resources for themselves. Ar:ad7amhPaasnbieesenhafivgehting Arcadia ratified the Rome Statute in June 2002. Borduria has not ratified the Rome Statute.
Below is a timeline of recent events.
T I . November 2022: Bordurian and Arcadian forces engage in several battles. Borduria loses nearly all of them. In the Battle of Borduria Bridge, for example, Arcadian forces kill 1,400 Bordurian soldiers.
T2. Early November: General Sputz, a high-level Bordurian commander, grows frustrated by his army’s losses. He orders his troops to shoot rockets into Arcadian cities. These rockets kill 300 Arcadian civilians, and wound 100 more.
T3. Late November: The Arcadian Army launch an attack against General Spoof s military base. The attack kills 300 soldiers and destroys several Bordurian tanks and aircraft. It also kills 8 Bordurian civilian contractors present. The army launched the raid at night to minimize civilian casualties.
T4. Late December: General Sputz orders a repression campaign against Arcadian civilians in the occupied territory. He orders his army to go door to door tohis Arcadian homes, and force Arcadians to pledge loyalty to Borduria. He orders his e troops to forcibly deport those who refuse to pledge loyalty. He also ordersorder. troops to execute Arcadians who refuse to comply with the p’ About 90% of Arcadians in the contested territory are deported.°Aabtout a hundred are killed by the end of December. 15. Early January 2023: Arcadia refers the situation in occupied Arcadia to the ICC prosecutor for investigation.
T6. Late January 2023: The King of Borduria maintains that General Sputz’s actions were not ordered by the government. He claims that Spu\tz ‘s`wpeunt roguei,:o’toancl will be fully prosecuted under the full extent of Bordurian av . tz goes hiding.
T7. Early March 2023: Bordurian forces capture General Sputz.
T8. Mid-March 2023: The Bordurian federal court pro. secutes Sputz his.conduct. The trial is underway. {-Inman rights orgalarge.mzations point out that the individuals that carried out Sputz’s orders remain at
MIDTERM — ICJ 101 — SPRING 2023
1. Assess events T1 and T3 above. Do they amount to war crimes, genocide, or crimes against humanity? Why or why not? Make a case for each international crime. (3 points)
2. Assess events T2 and T4. Do they amount to war crimes, genocide, or crimes against humanity? Why or why not? Make a case for each international crime. (3 points)
3. As you saw, Arcadia referred the situation in occupied Arcadia to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Based on what you have read, and what you learned about the ICC, would the ICC have jurisdiction in this situation? Why or why not? If the ICC does have jurisdiction, who could conceivably face prosecution? Who should not? (4 points)
Part B. Short responses answer the following two questions in a few sentences. Be sure to reference the course materials.
4. Your friend is reading a newspaper. They see a headline about a German court prosecuting a Syrian member of the Islamic State for alleged international crimes committed against Syrian nationals in Syria. Your friend is surprised. They point out that the crime did not affect a German national. They also point out that the crime was not committed on German territory. They ask you to explain how Germany could justifiably claim jurisdiction. In a few sentences, detail how you would respond to your friend. Answer in your own words. (2 points)
5. We studied various international courts and tribunals in this course, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and the International Criminal Court (ICC). What do the ICTY and the ICTR have in common? And how do they differ from the ICC? Answer in a few sentences in your own words. (2 points)
Part C. Extended response answer the following question in a few paragraphs (not exceeding 300 words). Be sure to reference the course materials.
6. In this course we studied at length the international legal definition of genocide (as articulated in the Genocide Convention, and largely reproduced in the Rome Statute). Many consider features of the legal definition of genocide to be flawed. Write an essay of a few paragraphs (250-300 words) explaining what you consider to be two most serious flaws of the legal definition of genocide. In your response, be sure to explain exactly why you think these are flaws. (6 points)
