Central to this book is the concept of humanity in international law. It
traces the evolution of that concept within international law, studies
the existing theories of crimes against humanity, and lays out its own
theory based on an inclusive view of "humanity". Crimes against humanity
are core crimes under international law; their modern definition is
found in the Rome Statute. However, their protective scope remains
unclear, with the exact meaning of "humanity" left undefined in law.
The proposed theory argues that "humanity" should be understood as
"humanness" and crimes against humanity should be criminalised because
humanness constitutes these crimes' valid protected interest. This
volume in the International Criminal Justice Series offers an analysis
of the German doctrine of Rechtsgut to justify the penalization of
crimes against humanity at both domestic and international levels.
This is the first monograph on crimes against humanity written by an
author from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) aimed at an
international audience, and should constitute a useful tool for
academics, students and practitioners of international law.
Rustam Atadjanov, LLB, LLM, Dr.jur., attained his Ph.D. at the
University of Hamburg in Germany and is a former Legal Adviser to the
Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in
Central Asia, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.