Derrick Wamalwa (Africa Nazarene University) has posted The Psychology of Obedience and Command Responsibility in International Criminal Law: A Critical Analysis through Milgram’s Obedience Experiments on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
This paper examines the conflict between the psychological realities of obeying authority and the legal principle of command responsibility in international criminal law. It relies on Milgram’s well-known theory and experiments on obedience. Specifically, this paper argues that the current framework of command responsibility, outlined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, does not adequately consider the social and psychological pressures that often push subordinates to follow illegal orders. The paper concludes by asserting that while individual criminal responsibility is essential in international criminal law, it is crucial to apply a psychologically informed perspective to accountability mechanisms for them to be fair and effective.
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