| Superior responsibility in international criminal law is a mode of liability arising from control. The criminal liability of superiors for subordinates' actions originates in, and is justified by the control characteristic of relationships of subordination. Despite superior responsibility's origin in the military context, the manner in which commanders exercise control over soldiers in conventional armies is irrelevant to identifying relationships of subordination in differently organized contemporary armed groups. Where control exists, whatever its nature and form, superior responsibility may be established. This paper challenges the militaristic assumptions about relationships of subordination argued to underlie interpretation of the law of superior responsibility as incapable of accurately and effectively accounting for superiors' involvement in, and culpability for international crimes. A flexible interpretation of control based on empirical evidence of armed groups' internal dynamics is argued to be necessary and appropriate for superior responsibility's effective application and legitimacy as an international legal doctrine. |
