To What Degree is the Concept of Extended Joint Criminal Enterprise Coherent? A Discussion with Regard to the International Criminal Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia
| Published date | 01 August 2015 |
| Date | 01 August 2015 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022018315596707 |
| Author | Christopher Cowley |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
To What Degree is the
Concept of Extended Joint
Criminal Enterprise
Coherent? A Discussion with
Regard to the International
Criminal Tribunal of the
Former Yugoslavia
Christopher Cowley
School of Philosophy, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Abstract
Joint Criminal Enterprise (JCE) is a mode of liability designed to capture the individual’s rela-
tionship to a crime committed by a group, including—in its ‘extended form’, also known as JCE
III—crimes committed by other individuals in that group that were foreseen as possible, even if
not likely. Although the ICTY made no mention of JCE in its statutes, the court introduced JCE
and extended JCE in the Tadic
´case (1999). This article examines the use of the concepts and
defends them against complaints by various critics. It concludes by supporting their use in the
International Criminal Court.
Keywords
Joint Criminal Enterprise, ICTY, Tadic
´case, contributory negligence
Joint Criminal Enterprise (henceforth JCE) is a mode of liability designed to capture the individual’s
relationship to a crime committed by a group, including—and most controversially—crimes committed
by other individuals in that group. It is fairly common in the common law jurisdictions and in the Nether-
lands. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (henceforth the ICTY) was estab-
lished on the basis of a Statute
1
which itself makes no mention of JCE. Nevertheless, beginning in the
Corresponding author:
Christopher Cowley, School of Philosophy, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland.
E-mail: christopher.cowley@ucd.ie
1. Statutes of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, adopted 25 May 1993 by United Nations Resolution
827, available at http://www.icty.org/x/file/Legal%20Library/Statute/statute_sept09_en.pdf (accessed 9 July 2015).
The Journal of Criminal Law
2015, Vol. 79(4) 270–279
ªThe Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/0022018315596707
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