ABSTRACT
The emergence of international criminal law (ICL) is one of the groundbreaking developments of public international law. Its origin traces back to the post-World War I initiative by the Allied Powers to prosecute the Kaiser Wilhelm II (Kaiser) for his individual responsibility, as opposed to state responsibility, in the commission of “supreme offence against international morality and the sanctity of treaties”. 1 Though finally failed, the efforts to prosecute the Kaiser 2 culminated in the domestic trials of some low rank German soldiers at Leipzig 3 and were instrumental in the post-World War II negotiation to prosecute Nazi Germans at Nuremberg for their individual responsibilities in the commission of international crimes. However, it was the Nuremberg Tribunal which laid the solid foundation of ICL. 4 The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite all its shortcomings, symbolises a pivotal moment in the development of ICL.
