Criminal proceedings are at constant risk of being disrupted, be it by witness interference, false testimonies or other forms of obstruction of justice. National legal systems extensively penalize such obstructive acts in order to protect their criminal trials, and even US Presidents could face consequences for obstruction of justice, as was exemplified by Richard Nixon and Donald Trump.
The problem of obstruction of justice is particularly acute in international criminal trials, many of which are affected by witness interference and other obstructive acts. Yet the penalization of obstruction of international criminal justice is hardly an issue in practice or in the academic world.
This study analyses the criminal law on obstruction of justice at the International Criminal Court and compares it with the respective legal regimes of Germany, the United States federal system, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Does the obstruction law of the International Criminal Court protect its proceedings in equal measure?
The problem of obstruction of justice is particularly acute in international criminal trials, many of which are affected by witness interference and other obstructive acts. Yet the penalization of obstruction of international criminal justice is hardly an issue in practice or in the academic world.
This study analyses the criminal law on obstruction of justice at the International Criminal Court and compares it with the respective legal regimes of Germany, the United States federal system, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Does the obstruction law of the International Criminal Court protect its proceedings in equal measure?
»Insgesamt hat Caba eine überaus materialreiche und sorgfältige Zusammenstellung der strafrechtlichen und sonstigen Möglichkeiten der Gerichte, auf Beeinträchtigungen des Verfahrens zu reagieren, vorgelegt. Auch unabhängig von den eingangs benannten rechtspolitischen Vorschlägen lässt sich die Arbeit Cabas als ein umfassender Kommentar zu allen einschlägigen - auch prozessualen - Regelungen der vier Rechtsordnungen über obstruction of justice verstehen. Wer sich künftig mit diesem auch praktisch wichtigen Thema beschäftigen möchte, kann aus der Arbeit von Caba viel Gewinn ziehen.« Prof. Dr. Thomas Weigend, in: Goltdammer´s Archiv für Strafrecht, 12/2023