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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Polit. Sci.
Sec. Peace and Democracy
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpos.2025.1497391
This article is part of the Research Topic Peace and Democracy: Views from the Global South View all 3 articles

The concept of most responsible in international criminal law and its problematic reception in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia

Provisionally accepted
José Manuel Díaz-Soto José Manuel Díaz-Soto Diego Borbón Diego Borbón *
  • Universidad Externado de Colombia, Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This perspective article critically explores the concept of "most responsible " within international criminal jurisprudence and its reception by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) in Colombia. In the context of Colombia's transitional justice process, the definitions of "most responsible" and "determining participants" play a pivotal role in deciding who should face prosecution and sanctions of effective restriction of liberty for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The article argues that the current conceptual ambiguity within the JEP’s legal framework risks conflating accomplices with principal offenders, which could undermine the selective justice model designed to focus on high-level perpetrators. Through a comparative analysis of international criminal tribunals, including the ICTY, ICTR, ICC, and SCSL, the article highlights the importance of clear definitions to avoid excessive judicialization and to align the process with the goals of peace, reconciliation, and restorative justice. This perspective concludes that the lack of precise legal definitions in the JEP could hinder its ability to fulfill its mandate effectively.

    Keywords: Peace process, peacebuilding, Post-armed conflict, Transitional justice, International criminal law, Restorative justice, JEP

    Received: 16 Sep 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Díaz-Soto and Borbón. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Diego Borbón, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia

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