| Abstrakt: |
At the time this Abstract is being written, Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen is still underway at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Ongwen, a former commander in the Lord's Resistance Army, faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for attacks on civilians he orchestrated in Uganda. What differentiates Ongwen from other ICC defendants is that he has been on both the giving and receiving end of international crimes--he was himself forcibly conscripted into the LRA as a child solider. This makes him the first victimperpetrator before the ICC, giving the Court the difficult task of evaluating his criminal responsibility from two perspectives: Is he still Ongwen the child soldier or was his victimhood erased when he became Ongwen the commander? Recognizing that the two cannot be severed, this Comment advances a totality of the circumstances framework, where all bright line rules are eliminated, making a balanced determination of accountability achievable without risking the legitimacy of the ICC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
