The Laws and Principles of Secondary Liability

Discover how individuals, companies and States can be held responsible for assisting others in committing international crimes and serious human rights violations. This volume explains the law in clear terms, explores real-life cases, and suggests recommendations for improvement, making it essential reading for scholars, practitioners and students.

In today's interconnected world, international crimes and serious human rights violations are rarely committed without the crucial support of secondary actors – be they individuals, corporations, or States. This is the first book to analyze how these secondary actors may be held legally responsible for contributing to such crimes. Drawing on a six-year international research collaboration, it brings together the work of 44 legal scholars to examine and compare diverse approaches to secondary liability across criminal law, civil law, human rights law, and State responsibility. Real-world examples – such as arms trading and financial support – illuminate the complex realities of complicity. The book stands out for its clear identification of legal concepts, its rigorous evaluation and comparison of existing laws against human rights and theoretical underpinnings, and its recommendations to recalibrate the law of secondary liability to bolster legal certainty and for the protection of human rights. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.