Available in Russian
Author: Aleksandr Evseev
DOI: 10.21128/2226-2059-2024-3-90-107
Keywords: personality of criminal; international crimes; primitive criminal; International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; Special Court for Sierra Leone; colonial legacy
This article discusses the nature and characteristics of the primitive criminal in the context of a general typology of international criminals previously developed by the author. This type of criminal is prevalent on the African continent and in a number of Third World countries. An emphasis is placed on the unique personality traits of these criminals, in particular their inherent animism, spiritualism, and often lack of literacy. Particular attention is paid to the oral type of culture in which the primitive criminal is immersed. In turn, this leads to the tangible impact of rumors, legends, neighbors' messages, etc., on his consciousness, which often serves as a breeding ground for the formation of an internal readiness to commit international crimes. The article analyzes the practice of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in the Media case, during the consideration of which the Trial Chamber concluded that the actions of management of the “Radio des Mille Collines” contained indicators of incitement to genocide. The fate of S. Bikindi, a popular singer in Kinyarwanda whose songs were often broadcast on the radio during the genocide of 1994 and who was sentenced to a long prison term, is typical. Separate attention is devoted to the controversial issue of recognizing “cultural defense” as a new basis for exemption from criminal liability. The article notes that community justice, officially recognized in several countries in Africa and Latin America, and in particular the gacaca courts), is able to remove the contradiction between modern justice, built on European or Anglo-Saxon models, and the primitive criminal’s personality, formed in a national-cultural environment. It is an archaic form of justice administered not by a professional judge in the civil service but by the most authoritative representatives of the community, temporarily serving as informal judges. Trials in international criminal courts and tribunals where the “cultural defense” was used are analyzed, as are the legal principles formulated in these proceedings. The author concludes that from the point of view of substantive international criminal law, the actions of primitive criminals are most often treated as direct (and joint) perpetration, since it is by their hands that such atrocities are committed.
About the author: Aleksandr Evseev – Candidate of Sciences (Ph.D.) in Law, Associate Professor, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia.
Citation: Evseev A. (2024) Prestupnik-primitiv kak osobyy tip mezhdunarodnogo prestupnika (po materialam afrikanskih del) [The primitive criminal as a special type of international criminal — African cases]. Mezhdunarodnoe pravosudie, vol.14, no.3, pp.90–107. (In Russian).
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