Joint criminal enterprise

Joint criminal enterprise (JCE) is a legal doctrine used during war crimes tribunals to allow the prosecution of members of a group for the actions of the group. This doctrine considers each member of an organized group individually responsible for crimes committed by group within the common plan or purpose. It arose through the application of the idea of common purpose and has been applied by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to prosecute political and military leaders for mass war crimes, including genocide, committed during the Yugoslav Wars 1991–1999.Without a certain degree of cooperation and coordination of actions, it is virtually impossible to perpetrate atrocities such as genocide or crimes against humanity.A joint criminal enterprise to remove forcibly the majority of the non-Serb population from areas which the Serb authorities wished to establish or to maintain as Serbian controlled areas by the commission of the crimes charged remains the same transaction notwithstanding the fact that it is put into effect from time to time and over a long period of time as required. Despite the misleading allegation in the Kosovo indictment, therefore, the Appeals Chamber is satisfied that the events alleged in all three indictments do form part of the same transaction.The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...has invented a doctrine of criminal liability known as ‘joint criminal enterprise.’ It uses this concept, which is so contentious that it is unconstitutional in many jurisdictions, in order to convict people of crimes when even the Tribunal accepts that they did not, in fact, commit them or that the proof is lacking to show that they did. Joint criminal enterprise (JCE) is a legal doctrine used during war crimes tribunals to allow the prosecution of members of a group for the actions of the group. This doctrine considers each member of an organized group individually responsible for crimes committed by group within the common plan or purpose. It arose through the application of the idea of common purpose and has been applied by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to prosecute political and military leaders for mass war crimes, including genocide, committed during the Yugoslav Wars 1991–1999. For example, 'if three people commit a bank robbery and one fatally shoots a person in the process, the law considers all guilty of murder'. The concept of 'collective liability' where more than one person can share liability and punishment for the actions of another person is not universally accepted and is considered by some to be a form of human rights abuse, while others believe it is just. The first usages of joint criminal enterprise doctrine are identified in post-World War II cases, in which the doctrine was used under the name common purpose (or joint enterprise), or without specific naming. However, the origins of the doctrine may be influenced by the Common Law of England, which introduced the principle into criminal law in the UK and other Commonwealth nations such as Australia. A similar legal principle can also be found in Texas, USA, where it is known as the Law of Parties. The notion of collective liability and shared punishment for the actions of others as if all perpetrated the same deed may be much older, and was used to justify extermination of religious and cultural groups, such as the Albigensian 'Heretics' and those who harbored them. Critics argue that Joint Criminal Enterprise can lead to excessive legal process and punishments, that it lowers the evidential bar in favour of prosecution, and that it runs counter to the spirit of Blackstone's formulation. Supporters argue that it ensures those contributing to or instigating a criminal act are properly made to account for their involvement. The first reference to joint criminal enterprise and its constituent elements was provided in Tadic case 1999. The Appeals Chamber of the ICTY decided on 21 May 2003 on the following definitions: Writing about this finding in the Journal of International Criminal Justice in 2004, Steven Powles (a barrister who has appeared as a defence council in matters before the ICTY and the Special Court for Sierra Leone) states that the Appeals Chamber was obliged to make this declaration because there was no specific mention of 'joint criminal enterprise' in the court's statutes and that 'this is not ideal criminal law, especially international criminal law, requires clear and certain definitions of the various bases of liability, so as to enable the parties, both the prosecution and, perhaps more importantly, the defence to prepare for and conduct the trial.' In the aftermath of World War II, the courts established by British and United States in Germany applied this doctrine in the trials against Nazis. The Italian Supreme Court applied a similar doctrine in the trials against fascists. Possibly, the most well-known post World War II cases are the Dachau Concentration Camp case, decided by a United States court, and the Belsen case, decided by a British military court, both sitting in Germany. In these cases, the accused held position of authority within the hierarchy of the Nazi concentration camps and based on that were found guilty of the charges that they had acted in pursuance of a common plan to kill or mistreat prisoners.