11. The Legal Aspects of the MH17 Disaster: What Next?
- Author:
- Emma Bakkum
- Publication Date:
- 06-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Public International Law Policy Group
- Abstract:
- The most often discussed legal avenue is criminal law, under which individual perpetrators can be held accountable for the crimes they committed. Not only those directly responsible but also those who ordered, conspired to or aided and abetted the shooting down of MH17 can be held responsible. These individuals can be prosecuted both at the national level in domestic courts or at the international level, at the International Criminal Court (ICC) or a specially established tribunal. Criminal law, however, requires a high burden of proof. Not only needs to be proven that an individual has committed a criminal act but also that the individual did so with the required knowledge and intent, making it difficult to prosecute individuals. Under the circumstances of the MH17 situation, investigations are strenuous. Jeroen Akkermans, who was one of the first investigative journalists present at the crash site, underlined the problems with gathering evidence.
- Topic:
- Crime, Law, Legal Theory, and International Criminal Court (ICC)
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Malaysia, Ukraine, and Asia