Mental Element Art. 30

MENTAL ELEMENTS UNDER ARTICLE 30 OF THE ROME STATUTE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Author(s): Sarah Finnin
Source: The International and Comparative Law Quarterly , APRIL 2012, Vol. 61, No. 2
(APRIL 2012), pp. 325-359
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British Institute of
International and Comparative Law
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23279895
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms
and Cambridge University Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend
access to The International and Comparative Law Quarterly
This content downloaded from

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
MENTAL ELEMENTS UNDER ARTICLE 30 OF THE ROME
STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT:
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Sarah Finnin*
Abstract The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the first
international instrument that includes a general provision on the mental
element required before criminal responsibility for an international crime
attaches (Article 30). This article analyses that provision from a comparative
perspective, drawing on common law and civil law understandings of intent. It
analyses the jurisprudence and commentary concerning Article 30 in detail,
and attempts to draw some conclusions as to what aspects of the common law
and civil law concepts of intent are covered by it.
I. INTRODUCTION
Prior to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute),1
no international statute, code or charter included a general provision on the
mental element required before criminal responsibility for an international
crime would attach. The Nuremberg and Tokyo Charters,2 which governed
the trials of the major German and Japanese war criminals following the
Second World War, contained no such provision. Nor did Control Council Law
No 10,3 which governed the subsequent trials of war criminals in post-war
occupied Germany. The Statutes of the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals
for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and for Rwanda (ICTR)4 did not contain
such a provision, nor did the various Draft Codes of Crimes against the Peace
* BA/LLB (Hons) (University of Melbourne 2006); PhD (Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law,
University of Melbourne, 2011); Summary Prosecutor, Office of the Director of Public
Prosecutions (Northern Territory, Australia). This article forms part of the author's PhD thesis,
'Elements of Accessorial Modes of Liability: Article 25(3)(b) and (c) of the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court' (Martinus Nijhoff 2012, forthcoming).
1 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (adopted 17 July 1998, entered into force
1 July 2002) 2187 UNTS 3.
2 Charter of the International Military Tribunal, annexed to Agreement for the Prosecution and
Punishment of the Major War Criminals of the European Axis (adopted 8 August 1945) 82 UNTS
279 (Nuremberg Charter); Charter of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (adopted
19 January 1946, amended 26 April 1946) TIAS 1589,4 Bevans 20 (Tokyo Charter).
3 Control Council Law No 10: Punishment of Persons Guilty of War Crimes, Crimes against
Peace and against Humanity (adopted 20 December 1945) in Official Gazette of the Control
Council for Germany, No 3, Berlin, 31 January 1946, 50-5 (Control Council Law No 10).
4 Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, adopted 25 May
1993, annexed to UNSC Res 827 (25 May 1993) UN Doc S/RES/827 (ICTY Statute); Statute of
[ICLQ vol 61, April 2012 pp 325-359] doi:10.1017/S0020589312000152

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
326 International and Comparative Law Quarterly
and Security of Mankind prepared by the United Nations International Law

Commission.5 This omission was not repeated with the Rome Statute, which
includes a specific provision (Article 30) on the mental element required for
crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This
makes Article 30 the first of its kind.
Article 30 of the Rome Statute provides that:
1. Unless otherwise provided, a person shall be criminally responsible and

liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court only if
the material elements are committed with intent and knowledge.
2. For the purposes of this article, a person has intent where:
(a) In relation to conduct, that person means to engage in the conduct;

(b) In relation to a consequence, that person means to cause that con
sequence or is aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events.
3. For the purposes of this article, 'knowledge' means awareness that a

circumstance exists or a consequence will occur in the ordinary course of
events. 'Know' and 'knowingly' shall be construed accordingly.
Thus, Article 30 represents an ambitious attempt at codification of the rules

relating to the mental element in international criminal law. As Pisani states, it
is 'designed to bring some consistency into this area of the law'.6 First, it aims
to set a default rule that applies, in principle, to all crimes included in the Rome
Statute. It therefore requires that, unless otherwise provided, the material
elements of a crime be committed with 'intent and knowledge'. Second, it
seeks to provide a comprehensive definition of these concepts of 'intent' and
'knowledge' in the two subsequent paragraphs.
While the mere presence of Article 30 in the Rome Statute is a step forward
compared to previous international statutes, codes and charters that did not
include any such provision, the article has been subject to criticism from all
corners of academia. Cassese describes it as 'confusing and ambiguous',7
while Werle and Jessberger state that it 'raises more questions than answers'.8
Satzger describes it as 'an extremely complex rule' that is 'quite clearly a
the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, adopted 8 November 1994, annexed to UNSC Res
955 (8 November 1994) UN Doc S/RES/955 (ICTR Statute).
5 See, eg, International Law Commission, 'Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and
Security of Mankind with Commentaries' in 'Report of the International Law Commission to
the General Assembly on the Work of its Forty-eighth Session' (6 May-26 July 1996) UN Doc
A/51/10.
6 N Pisani, 'The Mental Element in International Crime' in F Lattanzi and WA Schabas (eds),
Essays on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (II Sirente 2004) 125.
A Cassese, 'Mens Rea and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia'
(2003) 37 New England LR 1015, 1025.
8 G Werle and F Jessberger,' "Unless Otherwise Provided": Article 30 of the ICC Statute and
the Mental Element of Crimes under International Criminal Law' (2005) 3 J Int'l Crim Justice
35, 37.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
Mental Elements under the Rome Statute 327
compromise between continental and Anglo-American criminal law'.9 Eser, on

the other hand, while recognizing that Article 30 'can certainly not be called a
masterpiece of legal architecture', considers that 'it provides sufficient building
blocks for a meaningful construction of "intention"'.10
This article analyses Article 30 of the Rome Statute from a comparative
perspective, by drawing on the different approaches taken by two broad group
ings of States: the common law grouping, and the civil law grouping. The
primary systems drawn on as examples of the common law grouping are the
United States, the United Kingdom and Australia,11 while that drawn on as an
example of the civil law grouping is Germany.12 The article begins with a
general introduction to the concept of intent, as it is understood in both civil
law and common law domestic legal systems. This is necessary in order to
understand the approach taken at Rome because, as Kelt and von Hebel
explain, Article 30 'necessarily consisted of compromises between different
concepts or norms from various legal systems'.13 Part III examines the pro
visions of Article 30 in detail, and attempts to draw some conclusions as to
what aspects of the common law and civil law concepts of intent are covered by
it. Part IV discusses the exceptions to Article 30, and the article concludes with
some opinions on the appropriate direction of future jurisprudence and a
possible amendment to the Rome Statute.
9 H Satzger, 'German Criminal Law and the Rome Statute: A Critical Analysis of the New
German Code of Crimes against International Law' (2002) 2 Int'l Crim LR 261, 269.
10 A Eser, 'Mental Elements: Mistake of Fact and Mistake of Law' in A Cassese, P Gaeta and
JRWD Jones (eds), The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A Commentary, vol 1
(OUP 2002) 907.
11 Despite the US not being a State Party to the Rome Statute, it has nevertheless had a great
influence on the drafting of the statute, and on the development of international criminal law more
generally. The US made a significant contribution to the early development of international
criminal law through its influence on the Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials, and the trials before the US
Nuremberg Military Tribunals. With respect to the Rome Statute specifically, the Model Penal
Code prepared by the American Law Institute had considerable impact on the drafting of Article 30
of the Rome Statute and on the 'purposive' element of aiding and abetting under Article 25(3)(c).
This article also draws on domestic criminal law principles derived from the United Kingdom and
Australia, as the text of Article 30 bears striking resemblance to the equivalent provisions of the
English Law Commission's Draft Criminal Code Bill and the Australian Commonwealth Criminal
Code.
12 Like US law, German law has had a great influence on the development of international
criminal law, with a number of German criminal law professors establishing themselves in the field,
and acting as judges of international courts or tribunals (for example, Albin Eser and Hans-Peter
Kaul). More importantly, German criminal law theory 'enjoys widespread influence in the civil law
world': M Dubber, 'Theories of Crime and Punishment in German Criminal Law' (2005) 53 Amer
J Comp L 679, 679. Dubber notes, however, that criminal law in common law countries has, until
fairly recently, developed largely independently of German influence (ibid). German law therefore
provides a good example against which to compare general principles of law that are recognized
across common law systems.
13 M Kelt and H von Hebel, 'General Principles of Criminal Law and the Elements of Crimes'
in Roy S Lee (ed), The International Criminal Court: Elements of Crimes and Rules of Procedure
and Evidence (Transnational Publishers 2001) 22.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
II. THE CONCEPT OF INTENT IN COMMON LAW AND CIVIL LAW
A. Gradations of Intent
In all domestic criminal law systems, the general rule (although it is not
without exceptions) is that conduct must be committed with 'intent' in order
for it to constitute a crime.14 Conduct that is unintentional, or that is committed
negligently, will constitute a crime only in limited circumstances (usually, but
not always, where specifically provided for by statute). While all systems
require 'intent', the definition of intent varies widely depending on the par
ticular domestic system in question. Furthermore, it is rare for a single defi
nition of intent to be applied to every crime. Rather, domestic criminal law
systems recognize different gradations or degrees of intent. The same goes for
international criminal law. Each gradation or degree has two components: a
cognitive component (the element of awareness) and a volitional component
(the element of desire).15 What sets each gradation or degree of intent apart is
the relative level of each component.
Generally speaking, common law systems recognize three gradations of
intent: direct intent, oblique intent and recklessness. In addition, certain crimes
can be committed negligently, or even unintentionally (eg strict or absolute
liability offences). Civil law countries similarly recognize three gradations of
intent: dolus directus in the first degree, dolus directus in the second degree
and conditional intent (generally referred to as dolus eventualis). In addition,
civil law countries recognize two forms of negligence (advertent and inad
vertent). Furthermore, both common law and civil law systems recognize some
form of special (or additional) intent for particular crimes.16
Table 1 represents my attempt to provide a visual comparison of the different
gradations of intent recognized in the domestic criminal justice systems of
common law and civil law countries, in descending order of culpability.17
Inevitably, it only gives a broad outline of these gradations, as there is no one
'common law' or 'civil law' approach to intent. In fact, approaches differ con
siderably among civil law countries (and, to a lesser extent, between common
14 The term 'intent' is used here in the broad sense, to refer to any mental state that is higher
than negligence. Negligence is excluded from the concept of 'intent' in this context, because it is
characterized by the absence of any volitional or cognitive component (see Table 1 below). On this
point, see G Williams, Criminal Law: The General Part (2nd edn, Stevens & Sons 1961) 31. See
also GP Fletcher, Rethinking Criminal Law (OUP 2000) 508-10.
15 See, eg, Prosecutor v Bemba Gombo (Confirmation Decision) ICC-01/05-01/08, PT Ch II
(15 June 2009) para 357 (Bemba Confirmation). See also Eser (n 10) 905; William A Schabas, The
International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute (OUP 2010) 475.
16 The concept of special or additional intent is discussed below in Part IV.
17 I have not been able to find any similar visual representation of the differences between the
gradations recognized in common law and civil law countries. The hope is that a visual
representation will assist the reader in understanding how the different gradations in these two
systems roughly compare.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
Mental Elements under the Rome Statute
Table 1. Gradations of intent under common law and civil law
Common law Civil law
Special (additional) intent Special (additional) intent

(besondere Absicht or dolus specialis)
Direct intent Direct intent in the first degree

(Absicht or dolus directus in the first degree)
V=Very High C=Low V=Very High C=Low
Oblique intent Direct intent in the second degree

(direkter Vorsatz or dolus directus in the
V=Low C=High second degree)
V=Low C=Very High
Conditional intent
(bedingter Vorsatz or dolus eventualis)
Recklessness V=Low C=Moderate

V=Low C=Low/Moderate
Advertent (conscious) negligence
(bewusste Fahrlassigkeit)
V=Low C=Low
(Inadvertent/unconscious) negligence
V=None C=None Inadvertent (unconscious) negligence
V=None C=None
law countries).18 While some countries recognize every gradation listed

do not recognize them all.19 Similarly, while some countries define cert
ations in a particular way, other countries adopt very different defini
Therefore, the borders between each gradation should not be viewed
18 As Clark has put it, 'the civil law is not a monolith; the common law is not a monol
Clark, 'The Mental Element in International Criminal Law: The Rome Statute of the Inte
Criminal Court and the Elements of Offences' (2001) 12 Crim L Forum 291, 294.
19 For example, according to van Sliedregt, France does not recognize dolus event
form of intent: E van Sliedregt, The Criminal Responsibility of Individuals for Viol
International Humanitarian Law (TMC Asser Press 2003) 46. See also ME Bada
Eventualis and the Rome Statute Without It?' (2009) 12 New Crim LR 433, 455-6; C
'France' in K Heller and M Dubber (eds), The Handbook of Comparative Criminal Law
Law Books 2010) 218.
20 This is particularly the case for dolus eventualis, where even scholars within some c
hotly debate the definition of this gradation of intent (eg in Germany).

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
lines, but rather as boundaries that move, depending on the particular domestic
legal system one is examining and the time at which it is examined.
In the same way, there is no one view on how the various gradations of intent
recognized by common law and civil law systems line up when compared
directly. Commentators disagree, for example, on whether recklessness
(in common law) and dolus eventualis (in civil law) are really different, and
in what way. Thus, the placement of certain common law gradations next to
(or above or below) certain civil law gradations should not be viewed as
definitive, but rather as a starting point for the following discussion. In fact, it is
questionable whether it is even possible to compare the different gradations
directly, as the concepts are so different. Instead of comparing concepts, it may
therefore be more accurate to view the following table as comparing the likely
outcomes-, in other words, comparing whether an individual in a particular
case would be considered to fulfil the definition of the relevant gradation
if that same individual was to come before each domestic criminal justice
system.
Before examining Table 1, a few more explanations are required. First, in
addition to the English terms for each of the civil law gradations of intent,
I have provided both the German and Latin terms, which are more commonly
used by commentators and courts. Second, beneath the name of each gradation,
an indication has been given of the relative level of the volitional (V) and
cognitive (C) components required for each. As will be seen, both the
volitional and cognitive components are present for all gradations, except for
(inadvertent) negligence.
B. Direct Intent (in the First Degree)
Putting aside the question of special or additional intent, the highest gradation
or level of intent for both civil law and common law systems is characterized
by the perpetrator's purposeful will to bring about the prohibited result. This
gradation is captured by the following example:
P (the perpetrator) is a sniper who wishes to kill V (the victim). V is standing

inside a building a significant distance away. P shoots in the direction of V when
V passes in front of the window of the building. The bullet shatters the window,
and hits V. V dies as a result of the gunshot wound.
In this example, P has a strong desire to kill V; thus, the volitional component
is very high. He is not sure whether, by his conduct, he will succeed in killing V
(that is, whether he can hit his target at such a distance), but this does not
matter, as this gradation of intent is still satisfied even where the cognitive
component is low.
This gradation is generally known in civil law systems as direct intent
(or dolus directus) in the first degree. In German law, direct intent in the first
degree (Absicht) requires that the perpetrator 'have the completion of the

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
offence (element) as his purpose'.21 The perpetrator will be deemed to have this
level of intent 'also with regard to any fact that is a necessary or indispensable
interim or ulterior consequence of his primary purpose' (eg shattering the
window in the example above).22 As to the cognitive component, in German
law it is not necessary that the perpetrator be certain that the prohibited result
will occur (that is, it is not necessary that the perpetrator be certain that he will
succeed in killing V).23
This gradation is known in some common law systems (eg the US) as acting
'purposely', while other common law countries (eg the UK and Australia) refer
to it simply as acting 'intentionally'. To avoid confusion, I have adopted the
more academic title for this gradation: direct intent. As to the content of this
gradation in common law, the US Model Penal Code provides that a person
acts 'purposely' when it is his or her 'conscious object' to engage in conduct or
cause a result.24 Similarly, the Commonwealth Criminal Code in Australia pro
vides that a person acts with 'intention' if he or she 'means to' engage in
conduct or to bring about a result.25 Under English common law, this gradation
covers cases where an individual acts 'in order to bring about a result'.26 As
with the same gradation under civil law, where a person acts in order to achieve
a particular purpose, knowing that this cannot be done without causing another
result (eg shattering a window), he or she must be held to intend to cause
that other result (whether it be a pre-condition for, or a necessary concomitant
of, the first result) 27
C. Oblique Intent, or Direct Intent in the Second Degree
The second gradation or level of intent for both civil law and common law
systems does not require the same purposive degree as the first gradation. This
gradation is captured by the following example:
P wishes to kill Vby bombing the building in which V is located. P is aware that
there are other individuals in the building, and that they will almost certainly be
killed as well. While P does not want these other individuals to be killed (and in
fact he hopes fervently that they will somehow escape death), he nevertheless
bombs the building. Both V and a number of other individuals are killed in the
blast.
21 M Bohlander, Principles of German Criminal Law (Hart Publishing 2009) 63-4. See also
Pisani (n 6) 126 ('The accused must have acted with the precise scope or desire to bring about that
particular result22 Bohlander (n 21) 64.
23 ibid. See also ME Badar, 'Mens Rea: Mistake of Law and Mistake
Criminal Law: A Survey for International Criminal Tribunals' (2005) 5 lnt
See also Pisani (n 6) 126-7, 128. 24 US Model Penal Code
25 Criminal Code Act 1995 (Australia) s 5.2(1).
26 See A Ashworth, Principles of Criminal Law (6th edn, OUP 2009) 17
27 See, eg, Law Commission (England), A Criminal Code for England an
Report and Draft Criminal Code Bill (Report No 177, 1989) 192.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
In this case, P will be held to have fulfilled the second gradation or level of
intent with respect to the deaths of the other individuals who were in the build
ing with V. So, with this second gradation of intent, the volitional component
is weaker (P did not wish to kill these other individuals); it is the cognitive
component that dominates (P was almost certain that these individuals would
die as a result of his conduct in bombing the building).
This gradation is generally known in civil law systems as direct intent
(or dolus directus) in the second degree. In such cases, the perpetrator foresees
as a certainty or as highly probable that certain consequences will flow from
his or her conduct.28 As Van der Vyver explains, despite the perpetrator not
having any desire for those consequences to occur, the perpetrator nevertheless
engages in the conduct.29 According to Badar, he or she acts indifferently with
regard to the consequences, and is therefore deemed to have desired those
consequences.30 Similarly, the German Federal Supreme Court of Justice states
that 'a perpetrator who foresees a consequence of his conduct as certain is
considered to act willfully with regard to this consequence, even if he regrets its
occurrence'.31
This gradation is known in some common law systems (eg the US) as acting
'knowingly', although in others (eg the UK and Australia) it is still referred to
as acting 'intentionally'.32 Again, I have adopted the more academic title of
oblique intent in Table 1. The US Model Penal Code provides that a person
acts 'knowingly' with respect to a result when he or she is 'practically certain'
that his or her conduct will cause such a result.33 Similarly, under English
common law, the concept of oblique intent covers cases where a consequence
is 'virtually certain'.34 According to Williams, '[t]here are twin consequences
of the act, x and y; the doer wants x, and is prepared to accept its unwanted
twin y'.35 In other jurisdictions, the test is not as high. For example, in the
Australian Commonwealth Criminal Code, a person acts with this type of
intention with respect to a result where he or she 'is aware that it will occur in
28 Badar, 'Mens Rea' (n 23) 224.

29 Van der Vyver describes this form of intent as 'dolus indirectus', rather than 'direct intent in
the second degree': J Van der Vyver, 'The International Criminal Court and the Concept of Mens
Rea in International Criminal Law' (2004) 12 Univ Miami Int'l & Comp LR 57, 63. I would
submit, however, that he is referring to the same concept.
30 Badar, 'Mens Rea' (n 23) 224.
31 ME Badar, 'The Mental Element in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A
Commentary from a Comparative Criminal Law Perspective' (2008) 19 Crim L Forum 473, 486
(emphasis in original).
While civil law systems make a clear distinction between the two degrees of direct intent
(direct intent in the first degree and direct intent in the second degree), this distinction is not as clear
when it comes to common law systems. Generally, the first two gradations are referred to simply as
'intention', a category that covers two possible instances: where an individual acts purposely (direct
intent) and where an individual acts knowingly (oblique intent). It is for this reason that the
dividing line between the two concepts on the common law side of Table 1 is indicated with a
dotted line. 33 US Model Penal Code § 2.02(2)(b)(ii).
34 See Ashworth (n 26) 174, discussing the House of Lords decision in R v Woolin [
AC 82. 35 G Williams, 'Oblique Intention' (1987) 46 CU 417,421.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
the ordinary course of events'.36 This provision was based on37 clause 18(
of the Draft Criminal Code Bill prepared by the English Law Commissio
The Law Commission intended this phrase to cover cases where a result w
virtual certainty' (ie a result that would occur 'in the absence of some wh
improbable supervening event').39 It admitted in its report, however, that it
possible, under this definition, that 'juries will, in a few cases, find intention
be proved where, under the existing law [which required foresight of the vir
certainty of the result], they might not have done so'.40 For this reaso
Table 1 the 'oblique intent' category (in the common law column) extend
lower than the 'direct intent in the second degree' category (in the civi
column). This is an attempt to demonstrate that depending on the jurisdi
(for example, in Australia), this category may capture more cases (on the l
end of the scale) than the equivalent civil law category. This is because the
for acting with oblique intent in a common law system may require only
the result occur in the ordinary course of events, whereas the test for ac
with 'direct intent in the second degree' in a civil law system will require th
consequence be foreseen as a certainty or as highly probable. Nevertheless
both common law and civil law systems, this gradation of intent is char
terized by a low volitional component, and a high cognitive component.
D. Recklessness and Dolus Eventualis
In the third gradation or level of intent, the volitional component remains weak
and the cognitive component still dominates; however, the cognitive com
ponent is weaker than in the second gradation. Let us consider a slightly
modified version of the last example:
P wishes to kill Vby bombing the building in which V is located. This building is
in a busy street. P is aware that there is a risk that, in the explosion, other indivi
duals may be injured or even killed. While P does not want these other
individuals to be injured or killed, he nevertheless bombs the building. Both V
and a number of other individuals are killed in the blast.
In this example, while P is not certain that other individuals will be killed in the
blast, he is aware of a risk that this might occur. Thus, the cognitive component

37 Criminal Law Officers Committee of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General
(Australia), Model Criminal Code: Chapters 1 and 2, General Principles of Criminal
Responsibility: Report (December 1992) 25.
See Law Commission (England), Criminal Code, Volume 1 (n 27). Clause 18(bXii) provided
that a person acts intentionally with respect to a result 'when he acts either in order to bring it about
or being aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events' (emphasis added). This Draft Bill
was never enacted into law.
39 See Law Commission (England), A Criminal Code for England and Wales: Volume 2,
Commentary on Draft Criminal Code Bill (Report No 177, 1989) 192.
40 ibid 193.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
is weaker than in the last example. Again, P does not wish to kill the other
individuals, so the volitional component is low.
In civil law systems, this gradation is occupied by the concept of dolus
eventualis or conditional intent. There is no one test or definition for dolus
eventualis. Different tests or definitions have been put forward by commenta
tors and adopted by courts at different times and in different jurisdictions.41
Broadly speaking, dolus eventualis exists where a person 'is aware that a
material element included in the definition of a crime... may result from his
conduct and "reconciles himself' or "makes peace" with this fact'.42 As
Bohlander explains, the major schools of thought generally agree that the
perpetrator must have been aware of the fact that his or her actions might lead
to particular consequences; the disagreement centres mainly on the volitional
component.43 Some theories do not require any volitional component (but
differ as to the required level of awareness of the possibility or probability of
the result occurring), while others do require a volitional component (but differ
as to whether this should constitute approval/mental consent to the result, or
whether an attitude of indifference would suffice).44 According to Bohlander,
the German courts have adopted a 'watered-down approval theory'.45 By this
theory, a perpetrator will act with dolus eventualis where he or she foresees the
consequences of his or her actions as possible (but not inevitable), and
approves of them (in the sense that he or she has reconciled him- or herself to
those consequences for the sake of achieving his or her goal).46 The approval
of the perpetrator does not need to be explicit, and the perpetrator need not
morally approve of the result; it is sufficient if he or she nevertheless accepts it
in order to reach his or her ulterior goal.
The broad equivalent of dolus eventualis in common law systems is
recklessness. Essentially, recklessness is a form of'conscious risk-taking',47 as
it involves a person taking an unreasonable and unjustifiable risk, of which he
or she is aware. Under the Australian Commonwealth Criminal Code (which is
based on the US Model Penal Code),48 a person will be found to have acted
41 Fletcher, Rethinking Criminal Law (n 14) 445-6; Bohlander (n 21) 64. For example,
Weigend states that '[wjords such as dolus eventualis have, at different times and in different legal
systems, acquired different connotations, and it is thus far from clear that speakers from different
backgrounds mean the same thing when they use the same Latin expression': T Weigend, 'Intent,
Mistake of Law and Co-perpetration in the Lubanga Decision on Confirmation of Charges' (2008)
6 J Int'l Crim Justice 471,482.
42 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 51-2. 43 Bohlander (n 21) 64.
44 For a detailed discussion of the various schools of thought, see Badar, 'Mens Rea' (n 23)
228-32; Badar, 'Dolus Eventualis' (n 19) 458-62. See generally G Taylor, 'The Intention Debate
in German Criminal Law' (2004) 17(3) Ratio Juris 346. For an analysis of the concept of dolus
eventualis in Egypt, France, Italy and South Africa and under Islamic law, see Badar, 'Dolus
Eventualis' (n 19) 452-64. 45 Bohlander (n 21) 65.
46 ibid. See also Taylor (n 44) 348; Badar, 'The Mental Element' (n 31) 490.
47 See Law Commission (England), Criminal Code, Volume 2 (n 39) 194.
48 Criminal Law Officers Committee (Australia) (n 37) 27. The US Model Penal Code p
in § 2.02(2)(c): 'A person acts recklessly with respect to a material element of an offens
consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exi

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
recklessly if that person was aware of a substantial risk that his or her conduct
would cause a particular result, and, having regard to the circumstances known
to him or her at the time, it was unjustifiable to take that risk.49 Under
Australian common law, the test for recklessness is foresight of probability in
cases of murder, and foresight of possibility for all other crimes. Recklessness
is defined in the Code in terms of a 'substantial' risk rather than in terms of
probability or possibility because those terms 'invite speculation about
mathematical chances'.50 Regardless of the exact formulation, the cognitive
element for recklessness is low. Unlike dolus eventualis, recklessness does not
specifically require that a person reconcile him- or herself to, or accept the
outcome of, his or her risk-taking. It simply requires a decision to take a
substantial and unjustifiable risk.
Commentators disagree as to whether there is any real difference between the
concepts of recklessness and dolus eventualis. Generally, those who believe
there is a difference argue that dolus eventualis sets a 'higher threshold' than
recklessness, because recklessness does not require as high a volitional
component.51 This appears to be the position taken by the ICTY Trial
Chamber in the Stakic case,52 as well as ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I in the
result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that, considering the nature
and purpose of the actor's conduct and the circumstances known to him, its disregard involves a
gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a law-abiding person would observe in the actor's
situation.' The Australian Model Criminal Code (which became the Commonwealth Criminal
Code) did not adopt the requirement of a 'gross deviation'.
50 Criminal Law Officers Committee (Australia) (n 37) 27. For a discussion of the law relating
to recklessness in England, Canada and the US, see Badar, 'The Mental Element' (n 31) 488-9.
51 This is the position taken by Ambos, who situates recklessness somewhere between dolus
eventualis and conscious negligence: K Ambos, 'General Principles of Criminal Law in the Rome
Statute' (1999) 10 Crim L Forum 1, 21. Similarly, Triffterer situates recklessness between dolus
eventualis and negligence: O Triffterer, 'The New International Criminal Law: Its General
Principles Establishing Individual Criminal Responsibility' in K Koufa (ed), The New
International Criminal Law (Sakkoulas Publications 2003) 709. This is also the position taken
by Eser, who views recklessness as being more the equivalent of conscious negligence. In his view,
the volitional element in recklessness is entirely lacking: Eser (n 10) 906. Van Sliedregt (n 19) 46
views recklessness as being 'broader' than dolus eventualis. See also Wise, who states that 'dolus
eventualis demands that the accused have a particular subjective posture toward the possible
consequences of his conduct, where common law terminology minimizes the relevance of the
accused's desires, wishes, or wants': E Wise, 'General Principles of Criminal Law' (1998) 13
Nouvelles Études Pénales: Model Draft Statute for the International Criminal Court Based on the
Preparatory Committee's Text to the Diplomatic Conference, Rome, June 15-July 17 1998 39, 53.
As Badar notes, the ICTY Trial Chamber has held that the common law concept of
recklessness is not equivalent to the civil law concept of dolus eventualis, because of the lack of
any volitional component for recklessness. Badar states that the trial judgment in the Stakic case
'clearly shows that mere common law recklessness is not equivalent to the continental law dolus
eventualis. The latter requires a cognitive element of awareness and a volitional element of
acceptance of the risk, whereas mere recklessness lacks such a volitional element': ME Badar,
'Drawing the Boundaries of Mens Rea in the Jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia' (2006) 6 Int'l Crim LR 313,332, citing Prosecutor v Stakic (Judgment)
IT-97-24-T, T Ch II (31 July 2003) para 642. While I do not agree that there is no volitional

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
Lubanga case.53 However, while the test for recklessness does not explicitly
require as high a volitional component as the test for dolus eventualis, because
the individual does not have to be shown to have 'accepted' or 'been reconciled
with' the outcome, the fact that the individual decides to proceed with the
relevant conduct despite knowledge of the substantial risk is evidence of some
level of volition.54 Whatever the differences may be between the two concepts,
as Werle suggests, these gradations of the mental element would 'usually cover
the same factual constellations'.55 Nevertheless, in recognition of the fact that
recklessness does not specifically require that a person reconcile him- or herself
or accept the outcome of his or her risk-taking, recklessness is given a lower
volitional element than dolus eventualis in Table 1.
Having introduced the concept of intent in common law and civil law
domestic criminal justice systems and identified the various gradations of
intent recognized in those systems, the next part of this article turns to Article
30 of the Rome Statute, and attempts to situate the concepts covered by it in
relation to the gradations of intent set out in Table 1.
ni. ARTICLE 30 OF THE ROME STATUTE
A. Intent and Knowledge
Paragraph 1 of Article 30 sets out the general rule that the material elements
of an international crime must be committed with intent and knowledge.
However, prior to the February 1997 session of the Preparatory Committee for
the Rome Conference, there was debate as to whether these two terms
should be disjunctive ('or') or conjunctive ('and').56 Ultimately, a decision
was made to use the conjunctive formulation. As both Pisani and Eser
explain, it was felt that this formulation was necessary in order to emphasize,
from a psychological-analytical point of view, the necessary co-existence
of the cognitive and volitional components of intent, both of which can
vary in different degrees for the different gradations (as depicted in Table 1
component required for the gradation of recklessness, I do consider that this volitional component
is lower than that which exists in cases of dolus eventualis.
53 See Prosecutor v Lubanga Dyilo (Confirmation Decision) ICC/01/04-01/06, PT Ch I (29

January 2007) at fit 438 (Lubanga Confirmation).
54 Cassese seems to take this view, as he equates the two concepts and also states that
recklessness requires a volitional act: A Cassese, International Criminal Law (2nd edn, OUP 2008)
66-7.
55 G Werle, Principles of International Criminal Law (2nd edn, TMC Asser Press 2009) 153
(fii 90). See also Taylor (n 44) 348 (who describes dolus eventualis as *tak[ing] the place of the
missing concept of recklessness' in German criminal law) and Wise (n 51) 53 (who states that
'[Recklessness and dolus eventualis are not identical, although, as a practical matter, they are likely
to produce similar results in most cases').
56 D Piragoff and D Robinson, 'Article 30: Mental Element' in O Triffterer (ed), Commentary
on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: Observers' Notes, Article by Article (2nd
edn, Beck 2008) 854. See also Eser (n 10) 905.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
above).57 However, as is noted below, this does not mean that each particular
material element must be committed with both 'intent' and 'knowledge', as
those terms are defined in the subsequent two paragraphs of Article 30.
B. Element Analysis Approach
Unlike the statutes and codes that came before it, the Rome Statute takes an
'element analysis' approach, rather than a 'crime analysis' or 'offence analysis'
approach.58 'Elements' are the basic 'building blocks' of a crime.59 The Rome
Statute recognizes two types of element: material elements (also known
variously in domestic systems as the actus reus, physical elements or objective
elements) and mental elements (also known variously in domestic systems as
the mens rea or subjective elements). The material elements represent the
'external side of criminal conduct', while the mental elements represent the
'internal side'.60 As Badar explains:
Under 'offence analysis', crimes are defined in general terms; intentional crimes,
reckless crimes and negligent crimes, whereas 'element analysis' in contrast,
recognizes that a single crime definition may require a different culpable state of
mind for each objective element of the offence.61
The jurisprudence of previous military and international tribunals tended to

take an offence analysis approach, and did not distinguish the various material
elements of a crime and apply different mental elements to each. The ICC,
however, is required by its Statute to analyse crimes in terms of their different
types of material elements, which are each assigned a different mental element.
57 Pisani (n 6) 129; Eser (n 10) 905,907. However, the terms 'intent' and 'knowledge' as used
in Article 30 do not themselves equate to 'volition' and 'cognition'. Rather, they are legal terms
defined in paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article 30 respectively, while the terms 'volition' (ie desire)
and 'cognition' (ie awareness) are the two components that must both be present in each of the
gradations of 'intent'/'knowledge'.
58 See, eg, Bemba Confirmation (n 15) para 355. This 'element analysis' approach was
designed by the drafters of the US Model Penal Code: see US Model Penal Code § 1.13(9); P
Robinson and J Grail, 'Element Analysis in Defining Criminal Liability: The Model Penal Code
and Beyond' (1983) 35 Stanford LR 681. In fact, Heller states that Article 30's element analysis
approach 'is similar to, and almost certainly based on, the approach taken by the Model Penal
Code': KJ Heller, 'The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court' in KJ Heller and MD
Dubber (eds), The Handbook of Comparative Criminal Law (Stanford Law Books 2010) 603. See
also Badar, 'The Mental Element' (n 31) 476. The element analysis approach has also been adopted
by a number of model or draft criminal codes prepared in common law countries, for example, the
English Law Commission's Draft Criminal Code Bill and the Australian Commonwealth Criminal
Code: Law Commission (England), Criminal Code, Volume 1 (n 27) 51-2 (clause 18); Criminal
Code Act 1995 (Australia) Div 5.
59 M Kelt and H von Hebel, 'What Are Elements of Crimes?' in RS Lee (ed), The International
Criminal Court: Elements of Crimes and Rules of Procedure and Evidence (Transnational
Publishers 2001) 14. 60 GP Fletcher, The Grammar of Criminal Law (OUP 2007) 43.
61 Badar, 'The Mental Element' (n31)476. See also Robinson and Grail (n 58) which states (at
683) that under an 'offence analysis' 'one spoke of intentional offenses, reckless offenses, and
negligent offenses... [whereas an 'element analysis'] recognize[s] that a single offense definition
may require a different culpable state of mind for each objective element of the offense'.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
The Rome Statute contemplates three types of material element: conduct

elements, consequence elements and circumstance elements;62 it does not
define the terms 'conduct', 'consequence' or 'circumstance'.63 According to
commentators:
• Conduct includes 'a prohibited action or prohibited omission that is de

scribed in the definition of a crime'.64 As Werle notes, 'every international
crime presumes some conduct that is more precisely delineated in the
definition of the crime'.65
• Consequences 'can refer either to a completed result, such as the causing of
death, or the creation of a state of harm or risk of harm, such as
endangerment, for example'.66
• Circumstances 'qualify the conduct and consequences. They may, for
example, describe the requisite features of the persons or things mentioned
in the conduct and consequence elements'.67 According to Heller, a circum
stance element is 'an additional state of affairs that must exist for the
prohibited conduct and consequence to be criminal' (which may be either
factual or legal).68
Because the mental element is defined differently for different kinds of

material elements, the classification of a material element as a conduct,
consequence or circumstance element is critical: the relevant mental element
cannot be determined until each material element of a crime is properly
characterized.69 However, as a number of commentators have pointed
out, the dividing line between these types of material elements is not always
62 This follows the approach of the US Model Penal Code, which recognizes 'conduct',
'result[s] of conduct' and 'attendant circumstances' as the possible elements of a crime: see US
Model Penal Code § 2.02.
63 The US Model Penal Code similarly did not provide any usable definitions for these terms,
an omission that Robinson and Grail have described as having 'severely undercut' the usefulness of
the defined mental elements: Robinson and Grail (n 58) 707.
64 Piragoff and Robinson (n 56) 852. See also Kelt and von Hebel, 'What Are Elements of
Crimes?' (n 59) 14. Similarly, Heller describes a conduct element as 'the positive act or omission
prohibited by the crime in question': Heller (n 58) 602. According to Cassese, '[t]he conduct is
described by the international rule that imposes a certain behaviour... and therefore criminalizes
any act or omission contrary to such a rule': Cassese, International Criminal Law (n 54) 55.
65 Werle (n 55) 144.
66 Piragoff and Robinson (n 56) 852. Similarly, Heller describes a consequence element as 'the
required result of the prohibited conduct' (which may involve 'either actual harm... or simply the
possibility of harm'): Heller (n 58) 602. Werle describes a consequence as including 'all effects of
the criminal conduct' and explains that they can consist of 'harm that has actually occurred... or
merely of danger to a protected right': Werle (n 55) 144. See also Kelt and von Hebel, 'What Are
Elements of Crimes?' (n 59) 15. 67 Piragoff and Robinson (n 56) 852.
68 Heller (n 58) 602. Werle explains that '[objective circumstances can be of a factual
nature... or they can concern normative characteristics': Werle (n 55) 145. See also Eser, who
defines circumstances as 'any objective or subjective facts, qualities, or motives with regard to the
subject of the crime (such as the perpetrator and any accomplices), the object of the crime (such as
the victim or other impaired interests) or any other modalities of the crime (such as means or time
and place of commission)': Eser (n 10) 919. See also Kelt and von Hebel, 'What Are Elements of
Crimes?' (n 59) 15. 69 Robinson and Grail (n 58) 707.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
clear.70 Robinson and Grail argue that most of these difficulties can be avoided
if 'conduct' elements are
defined literally, and thus narrowly, to mean pure conduct, that is, to mean the
actual physical movement of the actor. Thus, objective elements of an offense
definition that might otherwise be classified as conduct elements, but which
actually describe characteristics of the conduct—i.e., elements concerning the
'nature of conduct'—should be treated as circumstances.71
In a way, this would involve breaking down what would normally be

considered one element (eg transferring, directly or indirectly, parts of the
population of an Occupying Power into occupied territory)72 into two or more
separate elements (thus, in this example, transferring parts of a population into
a territory as a conduct element, and the status of the territory as occupied
territory and of the population as that of an Occupying Power as circumstance
elements). According to this argument, whenever a phrase combines a conduct
element with a circumstance element in the Rome Statute, the elements should
be separated out.
Similarly, material elements that might otherwise be classified as conduct
elements but that actually describe results following the conduct, should
be treated as consequence elements. Again, this involves breaking down
what would normally be considered one element (eg inflicting great suffering,
or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health, by means of an
inhumane act)73 into two or more separate elements (in this example,
committing the inhumane act as a conduct element, and the requisite effect of
the act, such as great suffering, as a consequence element). Again, according to
this argument, whenever a phrase combines a conduct element with a conse
quence element in the Rome Statute, the elements should be separated out.
Robinson and Grail also note the fact that distinguishing circumstance ele
ments from consequence elements can be difficult.74 To resolve such problems,
they suggest defining a consequence as 'a circumstance changed by the
actor'.75 All elements that do not fit this definition would be 'independent
circumstance elements'.76 Let us take the example of the war crime of
starvation as a method of warfare, and the particular element of that crime of
'depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival': the actor creates
the deprivation (a consequence element), but he or she cannot alter the status
70 Kelt and von Hebel, 'What Are Elements of Crimes?' (n 59) 15. As Clark notes, there is
often overlap between 'conduct' and 'circumstances', and many of those involved in the drafting of
the Rome Statute 'thought of conduct as including causation and results': Clark, 'The Mental
Element' (n 18) 306. The difficulty in drawing the dividing line between 'conduct' and
'circumstances' was also recognized in the Commentary to the Australian Model Criminal Code:
Criminal Law Officers Committee (n 37) 7. 71 Robinson and Grail (n 58) 719-20.
72 See ICC, Elements of Crimes, Article 8(2)(b)(viii), Element 1(a). 73 See ibid, Article 7(1)
(k), Element 1.
74 Robinson and Grail (n 58) 723. 75 ibid 724 (emphasis omitted).
76 ibid.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
of the objects as indispensable to the survival of the civilians (a circumstance
element).77
In conclusion, Robinson and Grail's suggestions create the following
situation:
In every offense, the conduct element, although perhaps linguistically merged

with other elements, would simply perform the function of the act requirement.
[Consequence] elements would be easy to detect; they would be circumstances
changed by the actor. All other elements would be circumstance elements.78
Once a material element has been properly characterized as a conduct, con

sequence or circumstance element, paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article 30 provide
the applicable definition of the mental element. For a conduct element, only
intent is required, as knowledge is not defined with respect to conduct.
Similarly, for a circumstance element, only knowledge is required, because
intent is not defined with respect to circumstances. For a consequence element,
however, both intent and knowledge must be proven, because Article 30
defines both those terms with respect to consequence elements. The definitions
of 'intent' and 'knowledge' provided in Article 30, as they apply to the three
different material elements, are set out in Table 2.79
Therefore, depending on whether a particular element is a conduct, con
sequence or circumstance element, the required mental element will be either
intent or knowledge or both. This position is supported by the Elements
of Crimes, which states that
where no reference is made in the Elements of Crimes to a mental element for any
particular conduct, consequence or circumstance listed, it is understood that the
relevant mental element, for example, intent, knowledge or both, set out in article
30 applies.80
For this reason, although Article 30(1) provides that a person shall be
criminally responsible only if the material elements are committed with intent
and knowledge, as Werle and Jessberger explain, this part of the article 'cannot
be interpreted as requiring that all material elements have to be committed with
intent and knowledge'.81
Nevertheless, as all crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC involve conduct
and at least one other type of material element (whether it be a consequence
element or a circumstance element), when the various elements of the crime are
combined, one will end up with proof of both intent and knowledge.82
77 See ICC, Elements of Crimes, Article 8(2)(bXxxv), Element 1.

78 Robinson and Grail (n 58) 724.
79 As is the case with Table 1, Table 2 is my attempt to visually represent the definitions
contained in Article 30, arranged with respect to the relevant material element.
80 ICC, Elements of Crimes, General Introduction, 2 (emphasis added).
81 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 38. See also Werle (n 55) 151.
82 See Triffierer (n 51) 704.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
Mental Elements under the Rome Statute
Table 2. Definitions of 'intent' and 'knowledge' in Article 30
Intent Knowledge
Conduct means to engage in the conduct: None
Article 30(2)(a)
Consequence means to cause the consequence aware that it will occur in the
OR aware that it will occur in ordinary course of events:
the ordinary course of events: Article 30(3)
Article 30(2)(b)
Circumstance None aware it exists: Article 30(3)
C. Definitions of 'Intent'
Article 30(2) defines two different levels or gradations of 'intent'. A person has
'intent' with respect to conduct or a consequence if he or she 'means to' engage
in the conduct (Article 30(2)(a)) or cause the consequence (Article 30(2)(b)
(first alternative)). A person also has 'intent' with respect to a consequence
if he or she 'is aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events'
(Article 30(2)(b)(second alternative)).
1. 'Means to'
The first level or gradation of intent ('means to' engage in conduct or cause a
consequence) is defined using language identical to the wording found in the
Australian Commonwealth Criminal Code, which was based on the English
Draft Criminal Code Bill. In those Codes, this language was used to codify the
concept of 'direct intent'. I submit, therefore, that this language covers what is
known in the common law as direct intent, and what is known in civil law
countries as dolus directus in the first degree (that is, the highest gradation or
level of intent).83 In my view, it should therefore be interpreted as covering
cases characterized by the accused's purposeful will to engage in the conduct
or bring about the prohibited consequence (ie where the volitional component
is very high). In the language of the US Model Penal Code, engaging in the
conduct or causing the result should be the perpetrator's 'conscious object'.
This interpretation of the language 'means to' is supported by the juris
prudence of Pre-Trial Chambers I and II of the ICC, which have held that this
language requires that the accused act with the 'concrete intent',84 'purposeful
will'85 or 'express intent'86 to bring about the material elements of the crime.
83 This is also the position taken by Badar, 'The Mental Element' (n 31) 482-3.
84 Lubanga Confirmation (n 53) para 351.
85 Bemba Confirmation (n 15) para 358.
86 Prosecutor v Katanga and Ngudjolo Chui (Confirmation Decision) ICC-01/04-01/07, PT Ch
I (30 September 2008) para 529 (Katanga Confirmation).

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
As is the case for this level or gradation of intent in domestic law, the
perpetrator should also be taken to have this level of intent with regard to any
fact that is a necessary or indispensable interim or ulterior consequence of his
or her primary purpose (such as shattering the window in the example given
above).
There will, in my view, be one significant difference between the 'means to'
concept in Article 30 and the concept of direct intent or dolus directus in the
first degree in common law and civil law systems respectively. That difference
relates to the required cognitive component. In common law and civil law
systems, the law relating to this gradation of intent generally does not require
anything more than a low cognitive component to accompany the very high
volitional component. Thus, it is not required that the perpetrator be certain that
he or she will succeed in engaging in the conduct, or in bringing about the
prohibited result. In fact, it would be sufficient for the perpetrator to believe
that it is very unlikely that he or she will succeed. Take, for example, the case
of an individual who shoots at a target that is some distance away. In this case,
the perpetrator believes it unlikely that he or she will successfully kill the
victim at such a great distance, but, if he or she succeeds, he or she will be
considered to have fulfilled this gradation of intent, so long as it was his or her
conscious object to kill the victim.
Under Article 30, however, for a person to be held criminally responsible for
a crime, the material elements must be committed with intent and knowledge.
From the discussion above, we know that both intent and knowledge will only
be required in relation to a consequence element, because this is the only
element for which 'intent' and 'knowledge' are defined.87 Therefore, with
respect to a consequence element, it must be proven not only that the perpe
trator 'meant to' cause a consequence, but that he or she also fulfilled the
definition of 'knowledge' (that is, that he or she was aware that the con
sequence would occur in the ordinary course of events). Therefore, while only
a low cognitive component is necessarily required by the definition of intent,
the cognitive component for a consequence element is raised by the require
ment that consequence elements be committed with knowledge. The effect of
this is that whereas a perpetrator need not be certain that he or she will succeed
in engaging in conduct (because there is no knowledge requirement for a
conduct element), a perpetrator must be aware that he or she will succeed in
bringing about a consequence 'in the ordinary course of events'. Therefore,
this gradation of mental element in Article 30 of the Rome Statute is much
more difficult to fulfil than the equivalent gradation in common law and civil
law systems.
This position regarding the necessary cognitive component when applied
to a consequence element is supported by ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I's decision
in Lubanga, where the Chamber noted that Article 30 covered 'first and
87 See Table 2 above.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
foremost' the concept of 'dolus directus of the first degree'. It defined this
concept as covering situations where the perpetrator:
... (i) knows that his or her actions or omissions will bring about the objective
elements of the crime, and (ii) undertakes such actions or omissions with the
concrete intent to bring about the objective elements of the crime.. ,88
Thus, the Chamber viewed this gradation of intent as requiring that the
perpetrator 'know' that his or her conduct would bring about a certain
consequence (a very high cognitive component).
In conclusion, while at first it might appear that the language 'means to' in
Article 30(2)(a) and (b)(first alternative) incorporates the concept of direct
intent or dolus directus in the first degree (as those concepts are defined in
domestic law), the requirement that consequence elements also be committed
with 'knowledge' means that this gradation in Article 30 is in fact much higher
than its equivalent in domestic law. Unlike in domestic law, where this
gradation is normally characterized by a very high volitional component and
only a low cognitive component, under Article 30 the gradation is charac
terized by very high volitional and cognitive components (when it is applied to
consequences).
To give an example of the practical impact this may have, consider the
case of an accused who plants an improvised explosive device (or 'IED',
which have a notoriously low success rate), which he or she intends to initiate
remotely when civilians come within range. It is the perpetrator's conscious
object to kill those civilians; however, unless it could be shown that he or she
knew (at the time the device was initiated) that the device would explode
successfully and thereby result in the death of those civilians, the perpetrator
would not satisfy this gradation of intent. Regardless of how much he or she
might desire to kill those civilians, and how much he or she might hope that
the IED will initiate properly, this would not be sufficient if it could not also
be shown that he or she had the required knowledge. This obviously represents
an unexpected and undesired consequence of the conjunctive 'intent and
knowledge' wording of Article 30.
2. 'Aware it will occur in the ordinary course of events'
The second level or gradation of intent defined in Article 30(2) exists where
a person 'is aware that fa consequence] will occur in the ordinary course
of events' (Article 30(2)(b)(second alternative)). As with the first level, this
language is identical to the wording used in the Australian Commonwealth
Criminal Code and the English Draft Criminal Code Bill. In those Codes, it
was used to codify the concept of oblique intent. I submit, therefore, that this
language broadly covers what is known in the common law as oblique intent,
88 Lubanga Confirmation (n 53) para 351 (emphases added).

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
and what is known in civil law countries as dolus directus in the second
degree.89 In such cases, the perpetrator foresees as practically certain or as
highly probable that certain consequences will flow from his or conduct. While
the perpetrator does not have any desire for these consequences to occur, he or
she nevertheless engages in the conduct, and is therefore deemed to have
desired them. This gradation does not require the same purposive degree as the
first gradation defined in Article 30 (that is, it does not require the same high
volitional component), but the cognitive component is high (that is, the
perpetrator must see the relevant consequence as virtually certain or highly
probable).90 Therefore, as with the interpretation of the phrase 'in the ordinary
course of events' under the English Draft Criminal Code Bill, I submit that this
phrase in Article 30 should be interpreted to mean that the result would occur
in the absence of some wholly improbable supervening event.91 This is also
the position taken by Werle and Jessberger and by Badar, who interpret the
language to mean that the consequence would occur 'unless extraordinary
circumstances intervened'.92
It is relatively clear that the language of Article 30(2)(b)(second alternative)
covers the concept of oblique intent or dolus directus in the second degree. This
has been confirmed by the jurisprudence of the Court to date. For example, in
Bemba, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II described this gradation as requiring that the
accused be 'aware that [the material] elements will be the almost inevitable
outcome of his acts or omissions'.93 The more important question, however, is
whether such language includes anything lower than this. In other words, do the
words 'will occur in the ordinary course of events' also cover cases that would
fall within the categories of dolus eventualis or recklessness, as they are
understood in their respective domestic criminal law systems?
Provisions giving definitions of dolus eventualis and recklessness were
present early on in the negotiations of a draft statute prior to Rome. According
to Badar, the notion of dolus eventualis 'was last discussed in the 1996 Report
of the Preparatory Committee and since then had vanished from all the
subsequent reports and Statute drafts',94 whereas, as Clark explains, the
provision on recklessness 'was ultimately to vanish also from the Statute at
89 This is the position taken by Eser (n 10) 914-15.

90 See Bemba Confirmation (n 15) para 358 (stating that 'the volitional element decreases
substantially and is overridden by the cognitive element'), and para 369 (stating that the standard is
that of 'virtual certain[ty]').
91 This was the meaning intended by the English Law Commission, which was the first body to
use the phrase: see Law Commission (England), Criminal Code, Volume 2 (n 39) 192.
92 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 41; Badar, 'The Mental Element' (n 31) 484-5; Badar, 'Dolus
Eventualis' (n 15) 440. See also Pisani (n 6) 131.
93 Bemba Confirmation (n 15) para 359 (emphasis added). See also Lubanga Confirmation
(n 53) paras 351-2; Katanga Confirmation (n 86) para 530.
94 Badar, 'Dolus Eventualis' (n 15) 452. Clark similarly states that the 1996 Report of the
Preparatory Committee was 'the last time that the words dolus eventualis appear in any draft': R
Clark, 'Elements of Crimes in Early Confirmation Decisions of Pre-Trial Chambers of the
International Criminal Court' (2008) 6 NZ YB Int'l L 215.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
Rome'.95 In both cases, there was no formal decision to drop the relevant
provisions,96 leading commentators to speculate now with respect to the
intentions of the drafters. For example, Clark explains that his understanding of
the terms of the debate among States at the Rome Conference 'was that most of
the players... were generally uncomfortable with liability based on reckless
ness or its civil law (near) counterpart dolus eventualis'.91 Pisani argues that,
while a formulation that clearly included dolus eventualis did not appear in the
final formulation of Article 30, 'this consideration on its own would not
constitute an obstacle to the application of international criminal responsibility
based on [dolus] eventualis' 98 She concludes, however, that:
[t]he extensive debate amongst the various points of view as well as the pre
paratory drafts and the definitive choice adopted by the Statute to exclude
recklessness as a form of responsibility are all unequivocal indications that those
who drafted the Statute wanted to limit the subjective element to... direct
intent... [and] oblique intent... It seems clear, then, that the word 'intent' must
be interpreted as excluding recklessness as well as... dolus eventualis."
Werle and Jessberger argue that 'the fact that a definition of recklessness
provided for in the Draft Statute was removed during the negotiations at Rome
does not militate against including recklessness as a basis for criminal
responsibility under the ICC Statute'.100 Other authors, such as Ambos, have
interpreted this deletion as meaning exactly that.101
It is possible that a provision defining dolus eventualis was dropped early on
because drafters viewed it as being already covered by the terms of Article 30.
On the other hand, it is arguable that the fact that the provision defining
recklessness was retained up until Rome suggests that this concept was not
already covered by the terms of Article 30 (that is, the definitions of 'intent'
and 'knowledge' contained therein); in other words, if the wording 'will occur
in the ordinary course of events' left room for such a concept, there would have
been no need for a separate provision defining it.
95 Clark, 'The Mental Element' (n 18) 301. Clark has stated elsewhere that 'dolus eventualis
and its common law cousin, recklessness, suffered banishment by consensus [at Rome]. If it is to be
read into the Statute, it is in the teeth of the language and history': R Clark, 'Drafting a General Part
to a Penal Code: Some Thoughts Inspired by the Negotiations of the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court and by the Court's First Substantive Law Discussion in the Lubunga
Dyilo Confirmation Proceedings' (2008) 19 Crim L Forum 519, 529; Clark, 'Elements of Crimes'
(n 94) 220.
96 The provision defining recklessness was ostensibly dropped because the term did not appear
anywhere in the final text of the Statute, so there was no need to define it. See W Schabas, 'General
Principles of Criminal Law in the International Criminal Court Statute' (Pt III) (1998) 6 EJ Crime,
Crim L & Crim Justice 409,420; W Schabas, Introduction to the International Criminal Court (3rd
edn, CUP 2007) 224; Clark, 'Elements of Crimes' (n 94) 216; Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 52; Wise
(n 55) 52.
97 Clark, 'Drafting a General Part' (n 95) 525. See also Clark, 'Elements of Crimes' (n 94)
212, 216. 98 Pisani (n 6) 132 (emphasis added).
99 ibid. However, note that, in other places, Pisani seems to suggest that Articl
dolus eventualis and recklessness (ibid 125, 134).
100 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 52. 101 Ambos, 'General Principle

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
With the drafting history providing little help, the dispute over whether
recklessness and dolus eventualis are included within the meaning of Article
30 comes down to differing interpretations of the specific wording of that
provision. With respect to recklessness, academics generally agree that this
concept is not covered by Article 30, because it does not have the necessary
volitional component required by the conjunctive use of 'intent and
knowledge' in Article 30(1).102 This was also the position adopted by ICC
Pre-Trial Chamber I in the Lubanga case.103 As the Chamber explained:
The concept of recklessness requires only that the perpetrator be aware of the
existence of a risk that the objective elements of the crime may result from his or
her actions or omissions, but does not require that he or she reconcile himself or
herself with the result. In so far as recklessness does not require the suspect to
reconcile himself or herself with the causation of the objective elements of the
crime as a result of his or her actions or omissions, it is not part of the concept of
intention.104
Thus, recklessness, which the Court regards as having a lower volitional

component than dolus eventualis, is not, in the view of Pre-Trial Chamber I,
covered by the terms of Article 30. Pre-Trial Chamber II also took the view in
Bemba that recklessness is not captured by Article 30 of the Statute.105
As for the concept of dolus eventualis, the dispute comes down to the
interpretation of the wording 'will occur'. On the one side, there are those who
argue that such wording cannot be interpreted to include dolus eventualis.
They argue that mere probability that a consequence may occur is insufficient,
and that the wording requires that the perpetrator foresee the occurrence of the
consequence as certain. For example, according to Werle and Jessberger, dolus
eventualis is excluded by the wording 'will occur'; in their view, dolus
eventualis (which requires only a risk that a consequence may occur, rather
than a practical certainty) would only be covered if the language were 'may
occur'.106 This is also the view taken by Eser,107 Ambos,108 Heller109 and van
Sliedregt.110
102 See, eg, Piragoff and Robinson (n 56) 860 (fh 67). See also Eser (n 10) 906. Despite this
recognition, some academics clearly view the failure to allow for recklessness as a standard
gradation of mental element in Article 30 as 'questionable', given its status under customary
international law (and, in particular, the heavy reliance on recklessness as a sufficient gradation of
mental element for serious crimes in the jurisprudence of the ad hoc Tribunals): see, eg, A Cassese,
'The Statute of the International Criminal Court: Some Preliminary Reflections' (1999) 10 EJIL
158, 153. 103 Lubanga Confirmation (n 53) lh 438.
104 ibid. 105 Bemba Confirmation (n 15) para 360.
106 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 41, 53. 107 Eser (n 10) 932-3 (and see also 915).
108 Ambos, 'General Principles' (n51)21-2. See also K Ambos, 'Some Preliminary Reflections
on the Mens Rea Requirements of the Crimes of the ICC Statute and of the Elements of Crimes' in
LC Vohrah and others (eds), Man's Inhumanity to Man: Essays on International Law in Honour of
Antonio Cassese (Kluwer Law International 2003) 20-1. However, note Ambos' more recent
statement below, which seems to contradict this position: see text accompanying n 118.
109 Heller (n 58) 604. 110 Van Sliedregt (n 19) 51-2.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
On the other side, those in favour of the inclusion of dolus eventualis argue
that this phrase requires only that the perpetrator be aware of the probable
occurrence of the consequence. However, as Werle and Jessberger note,
'[r]emarkably, the few commentators who advocate the inclusion of... dolus
eventualis... hardly ever give any reasons for their position'.111 Examples
include Jescheck,112 Mantovani,113 Knoops,114 Triffterer115 and Cassese.116
One exception is Piragoff and Robinson, who argue that if the concept of dolus
eventualis is defined in terms of a substantial or high degree of probability (as
opposed to merely a risk) that the consequence will occur, then it is covered by
the terms of Article 30(2)(b)(second alternative); only those definitions of
dolus eventualis that require merely a risk that a consequence will occur would
be excluded.117 Ambos seems to agree with Piragoff and Robinson, stating that
'there are other, more cognitive concepts of dolus eventualis (requiring
awareness or certainty as to a consequence) and these may indeed be included
in Article 30'.118
Some of those commentators who argue against inclusion of dolus
eventualis in Article 30(2)(b)(second alternative) have recognized that it
would be possible for the ICC to interpret the phrase 'in the ordinary course of
events' in a way that would include recklessness or dolus eventualis, but
consider that such an interpretation may well conflict with the principle of strict
construction.119 Indeed, this is exactly what has occurred: Pre-Trial Chamber I,
in the first substantive decision of a Chamber of the ICC to interpret Article 30,
found that the wording 'will occur in the ordinary course of events' does
include the concept of dolus eventualis. It stated that the concept of intention in
Article 30 covers
situations in which the suspect (a) is aware of the risk that the objective elements
of the crime may result from his or her actions or omissions, and (b) accepts such
an outcome by reconciling himself or herself with it or consenting to it (also
known as dolus eventualis).120
111 Werte and Jessberger (n 8) 41 (fn 36).

112 H-H Jescheck, 'The General Principles of International Criminal Law Set Out in Nuremberg,
as Mirrored in the ICC Statute' (2004) 2 J Int'l Crim Justice 38, 45.
113 F Mantovani, 'The General Principles of International Criminal Law: The Viewpoint of a
National Criminal Lawyer' (2003) 1 J Int'l Crim Justice 26, 32.
114 G-J Knoops, Defenses in Contemporary International Criminal Law (2nd edn, Martinus
Niihoff 2007) 5. 115 Triffierer (n 51) 706.
Cassese, International Criminal Law (n 54) 73.
117 Piragoff and Robinson (n 56) 860.
118 K Ambos, 'Critical Issues in the Bemba Confirmation Decision' (2009) 22 L
715, 718. However, Ambos also states that he concurs with the exclusion of dolus
Article 30.
119 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 42. The 'principle of strict construction' refers t
which provides that '[t]he definition of a crime shall be strictly construed and shall n
by analogy'. See also T Weigend, "The Harmonization of General Principles of Cri
Statutes and Jurisprudence of the ICTY, ICTR and the ICC: An Overview' (200
Études Pénales: Quo Vadis? 319, 327 (fn 19).
120 Lubanga Confirmation (n 53) para 352.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
The Chamber went on to state:
if the risk of bringing about the objective elements of the crime is substantial (that
is, there is a likelihood that it 'will occur in the ordinary course of events'), the
fact that the suspect accepts the idea of bringing about the objective elements of
the crime can be inferred from:
i. the awareness by .the suspect of the substantial likelihood that his or her actions
or omissions would result in the realization of the objective elements of the
crime; and
ii- the decision by the suspect to carry out his or her actions or omissions despite
such awareness.
... Where the state of mind of the suspect falls short of accepting that the
objective elements of the crime may result from his or her actions or omissions,
such a state of mind cannot qualify as a truly intentional realization of the
objective elements, and hence would not meet the 'intent and knowledge'
requirement embodied in article 30 of the Statute.121
Thus, it appears that Pre-Trial Chamber I viewed the definition of intent with
respect to consequences (ie that a consequence 'will occur in the ordinary
course of events') as being fulfilled where: (a) there is a 'substantial' risk that
the consequence will occur; and (b) the accused is shown to have been aware
of this risk, and to have proceeded with the conduct regardless. While the
Chamber was devoted to the idea that a volitional element must be shown in
the form of acceptance of the outcome, however, this definition does not
appear all that different from the definition of recklessness. In reality, therefore,
there may not be any difference in terms of outcome. In Weigend's view,
whether or not Pre-Trial Chamber I is correct in its interpretation of the
wording of Article 30(2)(b), 'the Court's more expansive interpretation of that
clause certainly makes theoretical and political sense'.122 While he does not
explain what he means by this, it is likely that he is referring to the fact that
both domestic legislation implementing provisions of the Rome Statute and the
jurisprudence of the ICTY and ICTR have recognized liability for international
crimes in cases where the perpetrator has only recklessness or dolus
eventualis.123
More recently, in the Bemba case, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II took the
opposite position to Pre-Trial Chamber I regarding dolus eventualis, holding
that the concept is not captured by Article 30.124 The Chamber made this
121 ibid paras 353-5. 122 Weigend, 'Lubanga Decision' (n 41) 482-3.
123 See Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 42, 53-4.
124 In the Katanga Confirmation, which was handed down between the Lubanga Confirmation
and the Bemba Confirmation, Pre-Trial Chamber I stated that the majority of the Chamber (Judge
USacka dissenting) 'endorse[d]' the previous finding in the Lubanga Confirmation that Article 30
incorporates dolus eventualis-, Katanga Confirmation (n 86) fh 329. It stated, however, that '[f]or
the purpose of the present charges in the present Decision, it is not necessary to determine whether
situations of dolus eventualis could also be covered by this offence, since, as shown later, there are
substantial grounds to believe that the crimes were committed with dolus directusibid, fh 329.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
finding on the basis that the wording 'will occur' 'does not accommodate a
lower standard than the one required by dolus directus in the second degree
(oblique intention)'.125 Pre-Trial Chamber II stated further:
by way of a literal (textual) interpretation, the words '[a consequence] will occur'
serve as an expression for an event that is 'inevitably' expected. Nonetheless, the
words 'will occur', read together with the phrase 'in the ordinary course of
events', clearly indicate that the required standard of occurrence is close to
certainty. In this regard, the Chamber defines this standard as 'virtual certainty' or
'practical certainty', namely that the consequence will follow, barring an
unforeseen or unexpected intervention that prevents] its occurrence.
This standard is undoubtedly higher than the principal standard commonly
agreed upon for dolus eventualis—namely, foreseeing the occurrence of the
undesired consequences as a mere likelihood or possibility. Hence, had the
drafters of the Statute intended to include dolus eventualis in the text of article 30,
they could have used the words 'may occur' or 'might occur in the ordinary
course of events' to convey mere eventuality or possibility, rather than near
inevitability or virtual certainty.126
Pre-Trial Chamber II found that this interpretation was supported by the

travaux preparatoires of the Statute, which suggested that 'the idea of
including dolus eventualis was abandoned at an early stage of the negotiations'
of the Statute.127
No decision has yet been made by the Appeals Chamber of the ICC to
resolve the contradictory conclusions reached by Pre-Trial Chambers I and II
with regard to dolus eventualis. Thus, it remains unclear whether this concept
is covered by Article 30. In my view, however, the detailed analysis conducted
by Pre-Trial Chamber II of the language and travaux preparatoires of the
Statute lends greater weight to its finding that dolus eventualis is not covered
by the language of Article 30. Furthermore, as a matter of policy, given the
ICC's nature as a court of last resort and the principle of strict construction, an
interpretation of Article 30 that does not include dolus eventualis is
appropriate.
D. Definitions of 'Knowledge'
Article 30(3) provides two definitions of 'knowledge'. A person has 'know

ledge' with respect to a circumstance if he or she has 'awareness that [it]
exists', while a person has 'knowledge' with respect to a consequence if he or
she has 'awareness that... [it] will occur in the ordinary course of events'.
See also at para 531, where the Chamber stated that it need not take a position on 'whether the
concept of dolus eventualis has a place within the framework of article 30', because it did not
intend to rely on this concept for the mental element in relation to the crimes charged.
125 Bemba Confirmation (n 15) para 360. 126 ibid paras 362-3.
127 ibid paras 364-8.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
1. 'Awareness that a circumstance exists'
The first definition ('awareness that a circumstance exists') appears to require

positive or actual knowledge of the relevant circumstance. The question is
whether this requirement could be satisfied by proof of'wilful blindness', as it
is understood under the common law.128 In other words, would it be sufficient
to prove that an accused suspected that a circumstance existed, but avoided
actual knowledge by deliberately shutting his or her eyes to an obvious means
of knowledge.129
Piragoff and Robinson recognize that the specific definition in Article 30(3)
may exclude such a concept and that actual awareness or cognizance may be
required. They also recognize, however, that 'it may be open to the Court to
interpret "awareness" to include wilful blindness in some situations'.130 Eser
seems to have come to the same conclusion, submitting that while a draft
clause covering wilful blindness had been considered prior to Rome but was
ultimately abandoned,131 this does not necessarily mean that the language of
Article 30 could not be interpreted to cover cases of 'implied' or 'constructive'
knowledge.132 Badar argues, on the other hand, that the wording of
Article 30(3) 'limits the meaning of knowledge to "actual knowledge" as
opposed to "constructive" knowledge'.133 He states that '[e]ven knowledge of
"high probability" of the existence of a particular fact" is insufficient.134 He
therefore concludes that the doctrine of 'wilful blindness' would only be
covered by Article 30 'if the doctrine is understood to apply only in situations
where the perpetrator is virtually certain that the fact exists'.135 Thus, in his
view, Article 30 could be argued to cover cases where the accused realized the
high probability that the circumstance existed, but purposely refrained from
obtaining the final confirmation because he or she wanted to be able to deny
knowledge.136
In my view, in the context of international crimes, where criminal conduct is
widespread and ongoing, actual knowledge will be extremely difficult to prove
if some concept of wilful blindness is not permitted as a method of proof. For
128 As PiragofF and Robinson explain, in domestic legal systems that recognize the concept
of 'wilful blindness', it is treated as tantamount to actual knowledge: Piragoff and Robinson
(n 56) 861.
129 See, eg, Law Commission (England), Criminal Code, Volume 2 (n 39) 191-2. See also
Piiagolf and Robinson (n 56) 861. 130 Piragoff and Robinson (n 56) 861.
13 A proposal for a draft provision on mental elements submitted to the Preparatory Committee
in 1996 provided that: 'For the purposes of this Statute and unless otherwise provided, "know",
"knowingly" or "knowledge" means:... (b) [To be aware that there is a substantial likelihood that a
circumstance exists and deliberately to avoid taking steps to confirm whether that circumstance
exists] [to be wilfully blind to the fact that a circumstance exists or that a consequence will occur]':
Report of the Preparatory Committee on the Establishment ofan International Criminal Court, UN
Doc A/51/22 (13 September 1996) Volume II: Compilation of Proposals, art H(3)(b). This
paragraph did not appear in any later draft provisions on the mental element.
13 Eser (n 10) 931-2. 133 Badar,'The Mental Element'(n 31) 496.
134 ibid. 135 ibid (emphasis added).
136 ibid, citing Williams, Criminal Law (n 14) 159.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
this reason, Article 30(3) should be interpreted as allowing proof by at least a

limited form of wilful blindness, as put forward by Badar. As such, proof that
an accused was virtually certain that a circumstance existed should be taken to
satisfy the definition of knowledge in that provision.
2. 'Awareness that... a consequence will occur in the ordinary course

of events '
The second definition of knowledge is formulated in exactly the same

terms as the second gradation of intent defined in Article 30(2)(b)(second
alternative). The issue of whether dolus eventualis is covered by this wording
therefore applies equally to this definition of knowledge.
Having examined the default rule in Article 30 and the meaning of the terms
intent and knowledge, the final substantive part of this article considers
exceptions to that default rule.
IV. EXCEPTIONS TO ARTICLE 30 OF THE ROME STATUTE
A. Interpretation of 'Unless otherwise provided..."
As indicated by the phrase '[u]nless otherwise provided' in Article 30(1), there

are exceptions to the rule that the material elements of all crimes must be
accompanied by knowledge and intent. Article 30 merely sets out a general or
default rule that applies unless another rule provides for a departure from the
general rule by requiring a different mental element.137
The issue of what sources of law may provide for a deviation from Article 30
in accordance with paragraph (1) was not settled at the Rome Conference, and
commentators also hold differing opinions. Some argue that only provisions of
the Rome Statute can provide an alternative mental element to that required by
Article 30. For example, Weigend submits that the principle of legality means
that 'expansions of the definition of the mental element in art. 30 of the ICC
statute would have to be found in the statute itself, not in outside sources'.138
Eser is more specific: he argues that a deviation from Article 30 'may be found
elsewhere in the Statute, for instance within the specific definition of crimes or
general principles of criminal law'.139 Ambos goes further, however, arguing
that 'deviations from Art. 30 can only arise directly from Art. 6-8' (the pro
visions which set out the crimes within the ICC's jurisdiction).140 This view is
untenable, because Article 28, which relates to superior responsibility, is
137 See, eg, Bemba Confirmation (n 15) paras 136,353 (describing the language of Article 30(1)
as establishing a 'default rule'). 138 Weigend, 'Harmonization' (n 119) 327.
139 Eser (n 10) 898. Triffterer also appears to favour this line of reasoning: Triffierer (n 51)
699-700.
140 K Ambos, Der Allgemeine Teil des Völkerstrafrechts (2002) 789, cited in Werle and
Jessberger (n 8) 43.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
clearly a provision within the Statute that provides an alternative (and less
strict) mental element. Schabas argues that '[i]t would seem to be going too far
to suggest that the Article 30 standard in the Statute could be amended if an
exception is provided for in the Elements of Crimes', although he notes that
this is exactly what they have done.141 Similarly, Kre|3 has stated his opinion
that the Elements of Crimes cannot 'by themselves "provide otherwise"'.142
Others argue that the terms of Article 30(1) may encompass rules arising
from the Elements of Crimes and other sources of international law under
Article 21 of the Statute.143 According to Article 21(1) (which sets out the
applicable law that governs the Court), the Court shall apply, in the first place,
the Statute and the Elements of Crimes. In the second place, it may apply,
'where appropriate', applicable treaties and rules of customary international
law. A final subsidiary source of law is 'general principles of law derived by
the Court from national laws of legal systems of the world'.
The argument that sources outside the Statute may 'otherwise provide' for a
mental element is based on a literal interpretation of the language of Article 30.
As this argument goes, the wording of Article 30(1) does not specify that the
default rule requiring intent and knowledge applies 'unless otherwise provided
for in this Statute'; rather, a comparison of that wording with other wording in
the Statute suggests, according to Werle and Jessberger, 'that the range of
norms referred to in this case is much wider':144
When other provisions in the Statute itself are referenced, the reference is
generally made explicit; thus, a comparable clause in Article 31(1) ICCSt. on the
grounds for exclusion from punishment explicitly refers to 'other grounds for
excluding criminal responsibility provided for in this Statute'.145
While Werle and Jessberger recognize the argument that the principle of
legality requires that any expansion of the definition of the mental element in
Article 30 'would have to be found in the Statute itself and not in outside
sources', they view the 'uniform interpretation and application of the ICC
141 Schabas, Introduction (n 96) 225. In light of the recent jurisprudence of the Court (see below
n 152), Schabas appears to have changed his position in his more recent book, where he states that
'article 21 lists [the Elements] as a source of applicable law, and to the extent that [alternative
mental elements] are "provided" by such a source, they may be deemed "otherwise provided"':
Schabas, Commentary (n 15)475.
142 C KreP, 'The Crime of Genocide under International Law' (2006) 6 Int'l Crim LR 461,485
(emphasis in original).
1 See, eg, Clark, 'The Mental Element' (n 18) 321 (submitting that an alternative mental
element 'might be based on the general law, and in particular applicable treaties, customary law and
general principles of law'); Badar, 'The Mental Element' (n 31) 500 (stating that Article 30(1)
'enables the Statute to absorb the corresponding rules of international humanitarian law'); Cassese,
International Criminal Law (n 54) 74. For an explanation of the approach taken by the Preparatory
Commission in the Elements of Crimes, see Mauro Politi, 'Elements of Crimes' in Cassese, Gaeta
and Jones (n 10) 461; Kelt and von Hebel, 'General Principles' (n 13) 29.
144 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 45. ibid 46 (emphasis in original).

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
Statute and customary international law' as a more important objective in the

context of international criminal law.146
Debate on this issue continued at the negotiations by the Preparatory
Commission of the Elements of Crimes.147 As Piragoff and Robinson explain:
Some delegations were of the view that the Elements could not call for a deviation
from article 30, as the Elements document is subsidiary to the Statute. Other
delegations, while conceding that the Elements could not override the Statute,
argued that some deviations were necessary to make the crimes workable and to
faithfully reflect the intent of the Statute as well as the jurisprudence.148
The latter view was eventually accepted, and the General Introduction to the
Elements of Crimes indicates that any exceptions to the standard of Article 30
that are found in the Elements of Crimes are based 'on the Statute, including
applicable law under its relevant provisions'.149 Piragoff and Robinson further
state that:
This formulation recognizes the primacy of the Statute, and indicates that
exceptions must directly or indirectly flow from the Statute, but also recognizes
that the Statute itself, through article 21 (applicable law), allows reliance on other
sources, including treaties, general principles and the Elements. Thus, the
approach seems to avoid suggesting that States Parties could legislate a deviation
through the Elements, but allows them to codify a deviation where necessary to
reflect their intent when drafting the Statute or to reflect the relevant treaties and
jurisprudence.150
This position is consistent with rules of interpretation applicable to treaties,

whereby a subsequent agreement among all treaty parties (eg the Assembly of
States Parties to the Rome Statute) concerning the application or interpretation
of a treaty (in this case, the Statute) may be taken into account in interpreting
the treaty (ie may be taken into account by the Court itself when it interprets its
Statute).151
While the ICC Pre-Trial Chambers have thus far accepted that the Elements
of Crimes can provide for a deviation from the Article 30 standard,152 it
146 ibid. 147 See Piragoff and Robinson (n 56) 856.

148 ibid. 149 Elements of Crimes, General Introduction, 2 (emphasis added
150 See Piragoff and Robinson (n 56) 856.
151 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (adopted 23 May 1969, entered into force
January 1980) 1155 UNTS 331, art 31(3).
152 See Lubanga Confirmation (n 53) paras 356-9, where Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC
accepted that the Elements of Crimes—which required only negligence with respect to the ag
the victims in the case of Article 8(2)(bXxxvi) (War crime of using, conscripting or enlist
children)—represented 'an exception to the "intent and knowledge" requirement embodied
article 30 of the Statute': at para 359. However, as Clark notes, '[w]hether the negligence except
is consistent with the Statute, as understood in Article 9(3), is a question that will no doubt b
argued by the defence [in the Lubanga case] at a later stage': Clark, 'Elements of Crimes' (n
222. See also Bemba Confirmation (n 15) paras 136,353, where Pre-Trial Chamber II stated that
must be established that the material elements of the respective crime were committed with "inten
and knowledge", unless the Statute or the Elements of Crimes require a different standard of fa
(emphasis added).

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
remains unclear whether, in the absence of a clear indication in the Elements of
Crimes, the Court can have reference to sources of law outside the Statute to
found a deviation from that standard. For example, when determining what
mental element is applicable to the modes of liability set out in Article 25(3) of
the Statute (the elements of which were not elaborated in the Elements of
Crimes), could the Court rely on customary international law to found a
deviation from the Article 30 standard?
The argument put forward by Werle and Jessberger—that uniform inter
pretation and application of the Rome Statute and customary international law
is a more important objective than strict adherence to the principle of legality—
is compelling.153 While it is desirable to have clarity and precision in
codification in order to give fair notice of the scope of prohibitions, it is
perhaps more desirable for the law that is to be applied by a newly established
and permanent international criminal court to be consistent with customary
international law, as has been developed over a significant period of time prior
to its establishment. Therefore, in my view, Article 30(1) should be interpreted
to allow the Court to balance the potentially competing aims of the principle of
legality and consistency with customary international law, by allowing the
Court to have recourse to sources outside the Statute when determining the
applicable mental element in a particular case, where the Elements of Crimes
are silent (or where there are no Elements of Crimes, as in the case of modes of
liability under Article 25 of the Statute).
B. Types of Exceptions to Article 30
Determining whether the language of a provision establishes an exception to

the general rule set out in Article 30 must be done on a case-by-case basis.154
According to both Eser and to Werle and Jessberger, provisions that 'otherwise
provide' for a mental element can do one of three things:
(i) impose a mental element that is less stringent than that provided for in
Article 30;
(ii) impose a mental element that is more stringent than that provided for in
Article 30; or
(iii) impose a mental element in addition to that provided for in Article 30
(ie a special or additional mental element).
Examples from the first category broaden or expand criminal responsibility, by

requiring anything from recklessness or dolus eventualis to negligence.155 The
second and third categories narrow criminal responsibility.
153 Although it is heavily criticized by Clark: Clark, 'Drafting a General Part' (n 95) 525 (fii 18);
Clark, 'Elements of Crimes' (n 94) 214 (fh 14).
154 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 44,46-7. See also Eser (n 10) 901.
155 For an example of recklessness, see, eg, Article 8(2)(aXiv), where the use of the term
'wantonly' reduces the level of the required mental state to recklessness. For an example of
negligence, see, eg, Article 28(a)(i), which provides that a commander shall be criminally

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
1. Less stringent mental elements
In addition to examples of the Statute itself providing for a less stringent mental
element than that imposed by Article 30,156 there are various examples of the
Elements of Crimes providing for a less stringent mental element with respect
to one of the crimes it considers.157 These less stringent mental elements were
imposed because, in the view of the Preparatory Commission that drafted the
Elements of Crimes (and the Assembly of States Parties that adopted them),
a less stringent mental element was justified in those cases (perhaps on the
basis of a rule under some other 'applicable law'). It will be up to the Court to
decide whether it agrees with this assessment, and whether it will therefore
uphold the imposition of a less stringent mental element than that required by
Article 30.158
2. More stringent mental elements
It is not entirely clear what the difference is between the second and third
categories of provisions that 'otherwise provide' for a mental element (ie the
category that imposes a mental element that is more stringent than that
provided for in Article 30, and the category that imposes a special or additional
mental element). In fact, Eser cites some of the same examples (eg aiding and
abetting) for both categories,159 and Werle and Jessberger do not provide any
example of the category of more stringent mental requirements.160 It is perhaps
for this reason that Piragoff and Robinson recognize only two categories (the
first (less stringent mental elements) and the third (special or additional mental
elements).161
In my view, because Article 30 incorporates what is understood to be the
highest gradation of mental element in both common law and civil law systems
(direct intent or dolus directus in the first degree), there is simply no room for
other provisions to impose a more stringent mental element. There is, of
course, room to impose additional mental elements (as is the case with
genocide). However, in order to impose a more stringent mental element, the
only possibility would be to require, for example, that the accused 'meant to'
cause a consequence (thereby removing the lesser alternative included in
responsible for crimes committed by forces under his or her command not only when that military
commander knew but also where the commander 'should have known' that such crimes were being
committed. See also the Elements of Crimes for Article 8(2)(bXxxvi) (the war crime of using child
soldiers), which provides that the Prosecution need only prove that an accused 'should have
known' that a soldier was a minor.
156 See the example of Article 28 cited in n 155 above.

157 See above n 155.
158 Pre-Trial Chamber I has accepted such an example in Lubanga Confirmation (n 53) paras
356-9 (concerning the war crime of using child soldiers).
159 Eser (n 10) 899, 900. 160 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 48.
161 Piragoff and Robinson (n 56) 856-8.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
Article 30(2)(b) of being aware that a consequence 'will occur in the ordinary
course of events'). There are no such examples of a more stringent mental
element in the Statute or the Elements of Crimes.
3. Additional mental elements
As Piragoff and Robinson explain, an additional mental element exists where

the Statute states that conduct must be committed for an ulterior purpose, or in
pursuance of a specific goal (ie 'with intent to', 'with the intention of or 'for
the purpose of achieving certain ends).162 This special intent, they state, is an
element that must be proved in addition to any intent imposed by Article 30: 'It
is a separate mental element that is not linked to any material element that must
be proved or to which... article 30 would apply'.163 Similarly, Werle and
Jessberger view an additional mental element as one that does 'not necessarily
refer to a material element of the crime, such as conduct, consequence or
circumstance'.164 This may be where the difference lies between this category
and the second category discussed above: where a more stringent mental
element is required with respect to a particular material element, such a case
would fall within category (ii) above;165 where an additional mental element is
required that is not linked to any material element, such a case would fall
within category (iii) above.
The fact that an additional mental element is not linked to any material
element means that the accomplishment of the consequence that is the focus of
that additional mental element—because the additional mental element is
almost always directed at a particular consequence, rather than a circumstance
or conduct—does not have to be proven.166 According to Triflterer, it does not
even have to be proven that the particular consequence could ever be
achieved.167
Examples of additional mental elements that are commonly cited are: the
intent to inflict pain or suffering for such purposes as 'obtaining information or
a confession, punishment, intimidation or coercion or for any reason based on
162 ibid 857. See also Cassese, International Criminal Law (n 54) 65.
163 Piragoff and Robinson (n 56) 858. Kelt and von Hebel also agree that such additional mental
elements have no particular material element connected to them: 'General Principles' (n 13) 31,32.
See also Triffterer (n 51) 703.
164 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 48. On the concept of additional mental elements, see
Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department (Australia), The Commonwealth Criminal Code:
A Guide for Practitioners (March 2002) 61. The Guide refers to these additional mental elements as
'ulterior intentions', and explains that they 'characteristically take the form of a prohibition against
engaging in conduct with intention to achieve some further objective' (emphasis in original). It
further explains that while liability in these crimes 'is determined by the offender's objective, the
achievement of that objective is not itself a physical element of the offence.'
165 However, as noted above, given that Article 30 imposes such a demanding test for both
intent and knowledge, it is unlikely that there is any room left for this category.
166 Badar, 'The Mental Element' (n 31) 484; Cassese, International Criminal Law (n 54) 66.
167 Triffterer (n 51) 703.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
discrimination of any kind' for the war crime of torture under

Article 8(2)(c)(i);168 the intent to maintain the 'institutionalized regime of
systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other
racial group or groups' for the crime against humanity of apartheid under
Article 7(1 )(j); the intent to destroy 'in whole or in part, [a] national, ethnical,
racial or religious group, as such' for the crime of genocide under Article 6;169
the intent to discriminate on 'political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural,
religious, gender... or other grounds' for the crime of persecution under
Article 7(l)(h);170 the intent to 'deprive the owner of the property and to
appropriate it for private or personal use' for the war crime of pillaging under
Article 8(2)(b)(xvi) or 8(2)(e)(v);171 and the intent to 'facilitate] the
commission of... a crime' for the purposes of aiding and abetting under
Article 25(3)(c).
One interesting question is whether the definitions of 'intent' and 'know
ledge' contained in Article 30 apply to additional mental elements, or whether
a higher or lower gradation of intent or definition of knowledge might apply.
As an additional mental element is, by definition, a mental element that has no
corresponding material element, it would appear that Article 30 does not apply,
as Article 30's definitions of 'intent' and 'knowledge' are required only with
respect to the material elements of a crime. If it is accepted that Article 30 does
not regulate the mental element with respect to additional mental elements
(that is, that there is a gap in the Statute), then the Court would be permitted to
turn to other sources of law to provide the necessary contents of those mental
elements. For example, the Court would be permitted to turn to customary
international law (and the rich jurisprudence of the ICTY and ICTR before
which that law has developed) in order to determine the meaning of the 'intent
to destroy' requirement for genocide. Thus, it would be possible for the Court
to adopt a different gradation of intent (ie one that includes the concept of dolus
eventualis) or a different definition of knowledge (ie one that includes a more
expansive concept of wilful blindness) for the purposes of such additional
mental elements, if there is a basis to do so in another source of law to which
the Court can have reference under Article 21.172
168 This was identified as a 'specific intent' requirement in Bemba Confirmation (n 15) paras
293-4.
169 This was identified as an 'additional subjective element', 'specific intent' or'dolus specialis'
requirement in Prosecutor vAl Bashir (Decision on Application for an Arrest Warrant) ICC-02/05
01/09, PT Ch I (4 March 2009) para 139.
170 This was identified as a 'specific intent' or 'dolus specialis' requirement in ibid para 141.
171 This was identified as a 'dolus specialis' requirement in Katanga Confirmation (n 86) para
332, and a 'specific intent' or 'additional special intent' requirement in Bemba Confirmation (n 15)
paras 320, 331.
172 For an example of the approach taken by a domestic legal system on this point, see
Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department (Australia), The Commonwealth Criminal Code:
A Guide for Practitioners (March 2002) 61. The Guide explains that, since 'ulterior intentions' are
not defined in the Code, the content of the mental element in these contexts 'is determined by

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
V. CONCLUSION
This article has demonstrated that some of the criticisms of Article 30 made by
academics may be well founded. Article 30 does establish an extremely
complex rule,173 requiring that material elements be classified as conduct,
consequence or circumstance elements, and then requiring that a different
definition of 'intent' or 'knowledge' or both be applied to each. Certain aspects
of Article 30 are indeed confusing and ambiguous.174 For example, the lack of
any definition of the terms 'conduct', 'consequence' and 'circumstance' (given
the critical importance of accurately classifying material elements in order to
determine what definition of 'intention' or 'knowledge' applies) is a clear
failure on the part of the drafters of the Statute. Furthermore, the provision's
attempt to define the concept of intent in Article 30(2)(a) is not entirely
satisfactory, as the requirement that consequence elements be committed with
intent and knowledge means that the gradation of mental element established
under this sub-paragraph is higher than that of direct intent or dolus directus
in the first degree under common law and civil law systems respectively. As
noted above, this obviously represents an unexpected and undesired con
sequence of the conjunctive 'intent and knowledge' wording of Article 30.
Moreover, the use of the phrase 'will occur in the ordinary course of events' in
Article 30(2)(b) and (3) clearly 'raises more questions than answers',175 as it
has led to conflicting opinions among both academics and the different Pre
Trial Chambers of the Court with respect to dolus eventualis. Finally, the
definition of knowledge with respect to a circumstance in Article 30(3) appears
to set too high a standard.
Nevertheless, I agree with Eser that Article 30 'provides sufficient building
blocks for a meaningful construction of "intention"'.176 Some creative juris
prudence from the Chambers of the Court (in particular, from the Appeals
Chamber on the issue of dolus eventualis) would go a significant way towards
addressing these failures of drafting. In my view, the Court should:
1. Adopt definitions of the different types of material elements along the lines
of those suggested by Robinson and Grail. Thus, conduct elements would
be defined literally and narrowly to mean pure conduct; consequence ele
ments would be defined as circumstances changed by the actor; all elements
that do not fit these definitions would be independent circumstance
elements.
2. Clearly exclude dolus eventualis from the definition of intent under Article
30(2)(b) and (3), along the lines of the decision in Bemba.
ordinary usage and common law'. The Guide notes, however, that the definition of 'intent'
provided in the Code, while not directly applicable, would provide a 'persuasive analogy' (at 63).
173 Satzger (n 9) 269. 174 Cassese, 'Mens Rea' (n 7) 1025.
175 Werle and Jessberger (n 8) 37. 176 Eser (n 10) 907.

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC
3. Allow for knowledge of a circumstance to be satisfied by proof of 'wilful

blindness' (that is, by proof that the accused was virtually certain that a
circumstance existed, but avoided actual knowledge by deliberately shutting
his or her eyes to an obvious means of knowledge).
4. Interpret Article 30(1) to allow for recourse to sources outside the Statute
when determining whether the applicable mental element in a particular
case is 'otherwise provided', in circumstances where the Elements of
Crimes are silent.
Finally, in my view it would be desirable for Article 30(1) of the Rome Statute
to be amended by the Assembly of States Parties to replace the conjunctive
'and' with the disjunctive 'or', to avoid the difficulties involved with requiring
both knowledge and intent with respect to consequence elements (and to
prevent the perpetrator who plants an unpredictable IED from escaping
liability).

3.6.55.203 on Fri, 26 Mar 2021 23:40:33 UTC

Mental Element Art. 30

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Mental Element Art. 30

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Mental Element Art. 30

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

MENTAL ELEMENTS UNDER ARTICLE 30 OF THE ROME STATUTE OF THE

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23279895

This content downloaded from

[ICLQ vol 61, April 2012 pp 325-359] doi:10.1017/S0020589312000152

This content downloaded from

and Security of Mankind prepared by the United Nations International Law

1. Unless otherwise provided, a person shall be criminally responsible and

(a) In relation to conduct, that person means to engage in the conduct;

3. For the purposes of this article, 'knowledge' means awareness that a

Thus, Article 30 represents an ambitious attempt at codification of the rules

This content downloaded from

compromise between continental and Anglo-American criminal law'.9 Eser, on

This content downloaded from

This content downloaded from

Table 1. Gradations of intent under common law and civil law

Common law Civil law

Special (additional) intent Special (additional) intent

Direct intent Direct intent in the first degree

V=Very High C=Low V=Very High C=Low

Oblique intent Direct intent in the second degree

V=Low C=Very High

Recklessness V=Low C=Moderate

law countries).18 While some countries recognize every gradation listed

This content downloaded from

B. Direct Intent (in the First Degree)

P (the perpetrator) is a sniper who wishes to kill V (the victim). V is standing

This content downloaded from

C. Oblique Intent, or Direct Intent in the Second Degree

This content downloaded from

28 Badar, 'Mens Rea' (n 23) 224.

This content downloaded from

D. Recklessness and Dolus Eventualis

36 Criminal Code Act 1995 (Australia) s 5.2(3).

This content downloaded from

This content downloaded from

This content downloaded from

ni. ARTICLE 30 OF THE ROME STATUTE

A. Intent and Knowledge

53 See Prosecutor v Lubanga Dyilo (Confirmation Decision) ICC/01/04-01/06, PT Ch I (29

This content downloaded from

B. Element Analysis Approach

The jurisprudence of previous military and international tribunals tended to

This content downloaded from

The Rome Statute contemplates three types of material element: conduct

• Conduct includes 'a prohibited action or prohibited omission that is de

Because the mental element is defined differently for different kinds of

This content downloaded from

In a way, this would involve breaking down what would normally be

This content downloaded from

In every offense, the conduct element, although perhaps linguistically merged

Once a material element has been properly characterized as a conduct, con

77 See ICC, Elements of Crimes, Article 8(2)(bXxxv), Element 1.

This content downloaded from

Table 2. Definitions of 'intent' and 'knowledge' in Article 30

Conduct means to engage in the conduct: None

This content downloaded from

87 See Table 2 above.

This content downloaded from