Any crime could generate digital evidence. That is a reality law enforcement authorities across the world need to face. The volatile and “unterritorial” nature of the evidence means that... Show moreAny crime could generate digital evidence. That is a reality law enforcement authorities across the world need to face. The volatile and “unterritorial” nature of the evidence means that international cooperation in criminal matters is confronted with new questions. One of these questions is whether the traditional cooperation mechanism, mutual legal assistance, is a viable way of working. Due to its time-consuming and cumbersome functioning combined with the lack of a faster alternative, countries have developed unilateral and extraterritorial methods of evidence gathering. This paper zooms in on this development and the risks it entails. Show less
This paper explores international criminal law as a way to curtail the currently largely unfettered power of multinational corporations. With yearly turnovers that sometimes exceed the gross... Show moreThis paper explores international criminal law as a way to curtail the currently largely unfettered power of multinational corporations. With yearly turnovers that sometimes exceed the gross national product of states and corresponding political influence, such corporations not only theoretically can, but in the past repeatedly have, created detrimental effects for states and individuals in their sphere of operations. On the other hand, viable international solutions to subject multinational corporations to international rules and obligations comparable to those applicable to states are missing, except for voluntary partnerships like the UN Global Compact introduced by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan or efforts to make human rights obligations applicable to multinational corporations. The paper addresses the possibilities to extend the applicability of international criminal law to legal persons such as corporations. To that end, it shows how often-mentioned conceptual “stumbling blocks” such as establishing a corporation’s criminal intent (mens rea), corporate complicity, and means of punishment for corporations can be overcome, and hghlights the potential international criminal law bears to provide remedies to victims not only to crimes committed by states and individuals but also by multinational corporations. Only in extending the scope of international criminal law to multinational corporations, it is argued, can the former live up to its role not only as a means to punish but also to protect. Show less
