ABSTRACT

Legislation to deal with crimes against humanity is often international in nature. In fact, criminal justice everywhere is increasingly affected by international law. International law is the system of rules that states and other bodies regard as binding in their mutual relations. However, there is no such thing as a global constitution, nor is there a universally accepted international criminal code. The nature of international law is more diffuse than that. That is why it is called soft law, as opposed to the hard law of codes and constitutions. International law is used, on the one hand, to regulate how states should treat each other, and on the other hand is concerned with how states should treat its citizens. It derives from treaties, custom, accepted principles and the views of legal authorities (Hague et al., 1998).