Joint Criminal Enterprise: Searching for anAppropriate Description for the Liability ofInternational Criminals beyond Physical Perpetration

International crimes are usually the result of the criminal plans of those who,abusing their authority in a State or a non-State group, use other individualsas tools to pursue their ambitions. Therefore, while in domestic criminal law,the main liability rests on those who carry out the physical act constitutingthe mens rea, and those who have otherwise contributed to the criminalactivity are generally considered merely as accomplices and accessories,such an approach would not be satisfactory in international criminal law.The international ad hoc tribunals (the ICTY and the ICTR) have applied thedoctrine of Joint Criminal Enterprise (JCE) in order to hold liable asprincipals to the crime all individuals who, even if not directly involved inthe physical execution of the crimes, have nevertheless had a significant rolecontributing to the general activity of the group. Accordingly, when groupsacting with a common purpose cooperate to execute a plan involvinginternational crimes, each member contributing to the plan may be heldliable for all of the crimes falling within such plan perpetrated by othermembers. It is however observed that due to the controversial status of thedoctrine in international customary law as well as its failure to distinguishbetween different levels of contribution, its application cannot be considereda good solution. Hence, the Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC)have used the Control Theory of Perpetration distinguishing betweenparticipants with an essential role on the one hand and other contributors onthe other.Keywords: Criminal Responsibility, International Crimes, Co-perpetration,Joint Criminal Enterprise, Conspirac