Principles of Islamic International Criminal Law: A Comparative Search.

• Author: Cimen, Aysegul
• Position: Book review

Principles of Islamic International Criminal Law: A Comparative Search

By Farhad Malekian

Leiden-Boston: BRILL, 2011, 412 pages, ISBN 978 9004203969.

As one of the major components of the Islamic state, Islamic law has drawn considerable attention from different scholars both in the East and West. Particularly, comparative studies on the historical evolution of Islamic law and its application in modern legal systems are some of the major topics in the last two decades. Peters' Crime and Punishment in Islamic Law: Theory and Practice from Sixteenth to Twenty-First Century, Millers' Legislating Authority: Sin to Crime in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, Hallaq's Shari'a: Theory, Practice, Transformations, and Naim's Islam and the Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari'a are some of the prominent books in the field.

In the literature of Islamic law, such works generally present the history of Islamic law, the processes of codifications and compiling of Islamic law in the modern legal context, the application of Islamic law in different territories, and its challenges in secular-modern nation-states. Although Farhad Malekian's book also deals with Islamic law and modern international law, it is considerably different from previous works both in scope and sources. Rather than describing Islamic law and its application vis-a-vis modern legal systems, the author defines and elaborates on 'international criminal law' and 'Islamic international criminal law' (terminology belongs to Malekian). First and foremost, the author regards the system of international law as necessary to generate a sense of order in international relations without giving superiority to any of the legal systems of sovereign states. In this respect, international criminal law and Islamic international criminal law are studied comparatively in terms of principles, definitions, subjects, crimes, and sources. In fact, the book could be regarded first comprehensive study in its field.

The body of international law and its application prior to domestic law is one of the central questions, particularly for Islamic states. Although there is not an agreement, in general terms, on international crimes, international criminal law was accepted as part of international public law. International criminal law is concerned with the criminal responsibility of people in international crimes. Some of the specific offenses accepted as international crimes to be prosecuted under...