LA INFLUENCIA DE LA DECISIÓN DE LA CORTE PENAL INTERNACIONAL DE CONFIRMACIÓN DE CARGOS EN EL CASO LUBANGA EN EL DESARROLLO DEL DERECHO PENAL INTERNACIONAL

Abstract

The decision on the confirmation of the charges in the Lubanga case is the first decision of a substantive nature issued by the International Criminal Court. Its importance on the development of international criminal law is evident. The adoption of an approach to the distinction between principals and accessories to the crime based on the notion of control of the crime, as opposed to the subjetive approach based on the doctrine of joint criminal enterprise that has been embraced by the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, is particularly relevant. Furthermore, it brings back, at least implicitly, the requisite that the relevant organised armed groups must control a part of the territory of the concerned State in order for a crisis situation to be qualified as an armed conflict as opposed to a situation of internal disturbances and tensions.