Fitness to Stand Trial under International Criminal Law

This chapter analyses the international criminal law jurisprudence on fitness to stand trial. It examines the mental and physical disorders that have been asserted in international criminal proceedings for defendants accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It exposes the processes by which fitness is determined and distils the legal standards that international courts have utilised and the consequences of unfitness by international courts. The chapter canvasses the introduction of more nuanced and psychiatrically informed criteria for fitness determinations. It also proposes the introduction of adequately resourced secure facilities for the confinement of persons found unfit to stand trial in order to reduce the incentives for the assertion of questionable unfitness claims, and encourages consideration of the introduction of special hearings for those found unfit in order to advance the overall aims of international criminal justice.