International & transnational criminal law

"International and Transnational Criminal Law by Robert J. Currie offers an overview of those branches of international law commonly referred to as "international criminal law" (ICL) and "transnational criminal law" (TCL). It surveys the history and major developments behind a major legal and philosophical force of the twentieth century: that individuals can be liable for horrendous crimes that are committed, not just against the criminal laws of a single state, but against international law and thus the entire world community. In his treatment of ICL, Professor Currie examines the major international crimes -- genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression--against the backdrop of those international courts set up to deal with these crimes, such as the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals, the UN ad hoc tribunals, and the International Criminal Court. The discussion of TCL focuses on conduct that is considered to be criminal by the domestic law of states, but which has aspects affecting more than one state. The book reviews the major international law regimes designed to deal with transnational crime in such areas as narcotics trafficking, terrorism, transnational organized crime, corruption and cybercrime.

However, as it is part of the "Essentials of Canadian Law" series, a major goal of the book is to explore fully the nexus between these bodies of international law and Canadian domestic law--and help Canadian courts and lawyers engage successfully with the international aspects of the cases they work on. Accordingly, the book contains: a stand-alone chapter on the prosecution of international crimes before Canadian courts; a detailed examination of how the various transnational crime treaties are implemented in Canadian law; and a full chapter on Canadian extradition and mutual legal assistance law and practice.

The book also contains a number of unique contributions to Canadian legal literature, including: the first published analysis of the trial judgment in R. v. Munyaneza, Canada's first genocide prosecution; the most detailed study yet published of criminal cases with transnational elements, including the use of the Libman test for jurisdiction by courts; a chapter to dedicated to exploring the difficult issue of how Canada's human rights obligations interact with international criminal co-operation such as extradition; a study of the Supreme Court of Canada's controversial decision in R. v. Hape, and a look at the fallout from the court's approach to extraterritorial jurisdiction in that case."--Publisher.