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The International Crimes Act, 2008
requirements of law;
(b) The person is in a state of intoxication that destroys that person’s
capacity to appreciate the unlawfulness or nature of his or her conduct, or
capacity to control his or her conduct to conform to the requirements of
law, unless the person has become voluntarily intoxicated under such
circumstances that the person knew, or disregarded the risk, that, as a
result of the intoxication, he or she was likely to engage in conduct
constituting a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
(c) The person acts reasonably to defend himself or herself or another
person or, in the case of war crimes, property which is essential for the
survival of the person or another person or property which is essential for
accomplishing a military mission, against an imminent and unlawful use
of force in a manner proportionate to the degree of danger to the person or
the other person or property protected. The fact that the person was
involved in a defensive operation conducted by forces shall not in itself
constitute a ground for excluding criminal responsibility under this
subparagraph;
(d) The conduct which is alleged to constitute a crime within the
jurisdiction of the Court has been caused by duress resulting from a threat
of imminent death or of continuing or imminent serious bodily harm
against that person or another person, and the person acts necessarily and
reasonably to avoid this threat, provided that the person does not intend to
cause a greater harm than the one sought to be avoided. Such a threat may
either be:
(i) Made by other persons; or
(ii) Constituted by other circumstances beyond that person’s
control.
2. The Court shall determine the applicability of the grounds for excluding
criminal responsibility provided for in this Statute to the case before it.
3. At trial, the Court may consider a ground for excluding criminal
responsibility other than those referred to in paragraph 1 where such a
ground is derived from applicable law as set forth in article 21. The
procedures relating to the consideration of such a ground shall be provided
for in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
Article 32
Mistake of fact or mistake of law
1. A mistake of fact shall be a ground for excluding criminal responsibility
only if it negates the mental element required by the crime.
2. A mistake of law as to whether a particular type of conduct is a crime
within the jurisdiction of the Court shall not be a ground for excluding
criminal responsibility. A mistake of law may, however, be a ground for
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