Is President Hugo Chavez Liable under International Criminal Law?

by

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my thanks to my advisor, for his suggestions, comments, patience and understanding. Very special thanks to my parents, my father, my mother, my brother and my sister who were continuously supporting me throughout my life and leaving me free in all my decisions. I would also like to thank my colleagues for his technical support whenever I needed. I would like to thank to Department, all the university managers, teachers and students with whom I have worked.

I certify that the work presented in the dissertation is my own unless referenced

Signature..........................................

Date.....................................

DECLARATION

I declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. I further declare that this work has not previously been presented in whole or part, for any other award, or published in whole or in part elsewhere, including this university. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

ABSTRACT

In 1998, Venezuelans elected a radical to be the country's seventy-third president. His so-called Bolivarian Revolution has been the focus of Latin Americans, political skeptics, and local radicals around the world. The purpose of this study is to determine whether President Hugo Chavez is Liable under International Criminal Law.

Table of Contents

ABSTRACTIV

I.INTRODUCTION1

Delimitation of the Problem3

Is President Hugo Chavez Liable under International Criminal Law?3

II. OUTLINING OF CONFLICTING CLAIMS, CLAIMANTS, THEIR BASES OF POWER, AND IDENTIFICATIONS4

Claims by political and military opposition6

President Chavez's justification for his actions10

III. IDENTIFICATION OF PAST TRENDS IN DECISION AND THEIR CONDITIONING FACTORS12

What is an International Crime?12

Commentary on the crime of persecution by International Criminal Tribunals before the Rome Statute16

i.The International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia.17

ii.The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.17

Commentary on Pertinent Crimes under the International Criminal Court Statute18

i.Article 6, Genocide.18

ii.Article 7, Crimes against Humanity.19

Reasonable basis to believe that President Chavez committed crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC (Article 53 ICC Statute)20

IV. PREDICTION OF FUTURE DECISIONS BY THE ICC AND OTHER ORGANS26

V. APPRAISAL, DISCUSSION OF ALTERNATIVES AND SELECTION OF PREFERRED SOLUTIONS IN THE COMMON INTEREST OF A PUBLIC ORDER OF HUMAN DIGNITY33

VI. CONCLUSION36

REFERENCES39

APPENDIX43

Appendix A: Commonly used Terms43

Appendix B: List of Cases46

Cases of Genocide and Crimes against humanity46

Introduction

The South American country, Venezuela, has rich natural gas and oil deposits. It is the primary supplier of oil outside the Middle Eastern region. However, despite being the primary exporter, the country suffered from a distressing recession by the end of the 20th century. Due to this, majority of the Venezuelan nation lived below the poverty line and the country's authority was under the power of its elite.

Hugo Chavez was a lieutenant colonel in the military without any previous political experience. He became the president of Venezuela in 1998 and promised to bring about pervasive change in the country. He instituted massive amounts of transformation in country by introducing campaigns to promote literacy among poor, to provide subsidized food to the poor, redistribution of land and wealth, and ...