'Crimes against humanity' in document 'Malta - Criminal Code'

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RELEVANT SECTIONS OF THE IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION

BOOK FIRST PENAL LAWS

PART II
OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

Title I
OF GENOCIDE, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES

54A. (1) It is a crime for a person to commit genocide, a crime against humanity or a war crime.

BOOK FIRST PENAL LAWS

PART II
OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

Title I
OF GENOCIDE, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES

54A. "crime against humanity" means a crime against humanity as defined in article 54C;

BOOK FIRST PENAL LAWS

PART II
OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

Title I
OF GENOCIDE, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES

54A. (3) In interpreting and applying the provisions of this Title the court shall take into account the original text of the ICC Treaty and of any treaty and convention referred to in the ICC Treaty.

BOOK FIRST PENAL LAWS

PART II
OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

Title I
OF GENOCIDE, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES

54A. (4) In interpreting and applying the provisions of articles 54B, 54C and 54D, hereinafter, in this Title, referred to as "the relevant articles", the court shall take into account -
(a) any relevant Elements of Crimes adopted in accordance with article 9 of the ICC Treaty, and
(b) until such time as Elements of Crimes are adopted under that article, any relevant Elements of Crimes contained in the report of the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court adopted on 30th June, 2000.

BOOK FIRST PENAL LAWS

PART II
OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

Title I
OF GENOCIDE, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES

54C. (1) A crime against humanity is committed where any of the following acts is committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack :
(a) murder ;
(b) extermination ;
(c) enslavement ;
(d) deportation or forcible transfer of population ;
(e) imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law ;
(f) torture ;
(g) rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity ;
(h) persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in subarticle (3), or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this sub-article or any crime under article 54A ;
(i) enforced disappearance of persons ;
(j) the crime of apartheid ;
(k) other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health .

(2) For the purpose of subarticle (1) -
(a) "attack directed against any civilian population" means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in subarticle (1) against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack ;
(b) "extermination" includes the intentional infliction of conditions of life, inter alia the deprivation of access to food and medicine, calculated to bring about the destruction of part of a population ;
(c) "enslavement" means the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over a person and includes the exercise of such power in the course of trafficking in persons, in particular women and children ;
(d) "deportation or forcible transfer of population" means forced displacement of the persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds permitted under international law ;
(e) "torture" means the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, upon a person in the custody or under the control of the accused; except that torture shall not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions ;
(f) "forced pregnancy" means the unlawful confinement of a woman forcibly made pregnant, with the intent of affecting the ethnic composition of any population or carrying out other grave violations of international law. This definition shall not in any way be interpreted as affecting national laws relating to pregnancy ;
(g) "persecution" means the intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights contrary to international law by reason of the identity of the group or collectivity ;
(h) "the crime of apartheid" means inhumane acts of a character similar to those referred to in subarticle (1), committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime ;
(i) "enforced disappearance of persons" means the arrest, detention or abduction of persons by, or with the authorization, support or acquiescence of, a State or a political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge that deprivation of freedom or to give information on the fate or whereabouts of those persons, with the intention of removing them from the protection of the law for a prolonged period of time.

(3) For the purpose of this Title, it is understood that the term "gender" refers to the two sexes, male and female, within the context of society. The term "gender" does not indicate any meaning different from the above .

BOOK FIRST PENAL LAWS

PART II
OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

Title I
OF GENOCIDE, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND WAR CRIMES

54F. (1) References in this Part to a person committing -
(a) genocide,
(b) a crime against humanity, or
(c) a war crime,
shall be construed in accordance with this article.

(2) Unless otherwise provided by -
(a) the articles mentioned in the definition in article 54A(1) of the crimes specified in subarticle (1)(a) to (c) of this article, or in any relevant Elements of Crimes referred to in article 54A(3),
(b) article 54E, a person is regarded as committing a crime referred to in subarticle (1) only if the material elements of the crime are committed with intent and knowledge.

(3) For this purpose -
(a) a person has intent -
(i) in relation to conduct, where he means to engage in the conduct, and
(ii) in relation to a consequence, where he means to cause the consequence or is aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events, and

(b) "knowledge" means awareness that a circumstance exists or a consequence will occur in the ordinary course of events.

(4) In interpreting and applying the provisions of this article (which corresponds to article 30 of the ICC Treaty) the court shall take into account any relevant judgment or decision of the ICC and may also take into account any other relevant international jurisprudence.

BOOK FIRST PENAL LAWS

PART II
OF CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

TITLE II
OF CRIMES AGAINST THE PUBLIC PEACE

82A. (1) Whosoever uses any threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or displays any written or printed material which is threatening, abusive or insulting, or otherwise conducts himself in such a manner, with intent thereby to stir up violence or hatred against another person or group on the grounds of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, colour, language, ethnic origin, religion or belief or political or other opinion or whereby such violence or racial hatred is likely, having regard to all the circumstances, to be stirred up shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term from six to eighteen months.

(2) For the purposes of the foregoing subarticle "violence or hatred" means violence or hatred against a person or against a group of persons in Malta defined by reference to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, colour, language, ethnic origin, religion or belief or political or other opinion.


82B. Whosoever publicly condones, denies or grossly trivialises genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin when the conduct is carried out in a manner -
(a) likely to incite to violence or hatred against such a group or a member of such a group;
(b) likely to disturb public order or which is threatening, abusive or insulting,
shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term from eight months to two years:
Provided that for the purposes of this article "genocide", "crimes against humanity" and "war crimes" shall have the same meaning assigned to them in article 54A.

RELEVANT ROME STATUTE PROVISIONS

Article 5
Crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court
1. The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The Court has jurisdiction in accordance with this Statute with respect to the following crimes:
(b) Crimes against humanity

Article 7
Crimes against humanity
1. For the purpose of this Statute, "crime against humanity" means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:
(a) Murder;
(b) Extermination;
(c) Enslavement;
(d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population;
(e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;
(f) Torture;
(g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity;
(h) Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
(i) Enforced disappearance of persons;
(j) The crime of apartheid;
(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.
2. For the purpose of paragraph 1:
(a) "Attack directed against any civilian population" means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack;
(b) "Extermination" includes the intentional infliction of conditions of life, inter alia the deprivation of access to food and medicine, calculated to bring about the destruction of part of a population;
(c) "Enslavement" means the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over a person and includes the exercise of such power in the course of trafficking in persons, in particular women and children;
(d) "Deportation or forcible transfer of population" means forced displacement of the persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds permitted under international law;
(e) "Torture" means the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, upon a person in the custody or under the control of the accused; except that torture shall not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions;
(f) "Forced pregnancy" means the unlawful confinement of a woman forcibly made pregnant, with the intent of affecting the ethnic composition of any population or carrying out other grave violations of international law. This definition shall not in any way be interpreted as affecting national laws relating to pregnancy;
(g) "Persecution" means the intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights contrary to international law by reason of the identity of the group or collectivity;
(h) "The crime of apartheid" means inhumane acts of a character similar to those referred to in paragraph 1, committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime;
(i) "Enforced disappearance of persons" means the arrest, detention or abduction of persons by, or with the authorization, support or acquiescence of, a State or a political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge that deprivation of freedom or to give information on the fate or whereabouts of those persons, with the intention of removing them from the protection of the law for a prolonged period of time.
3. For the purpose of this Statute, it is understood that the term "gender" refers to the two sexes, male and female, within the context of society. The term "gender" does not indicate any meaning different from the above.