The draft articles on crimes against humanity: charting the path for corporate accountability

Corporate complicity in atrocity crimes has long been documented, yet international criminal law has struggled to hold companies accountable. This article argues that the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on Crimes against Humanity, and in particular Draft Article 6(8), present a critical opportunity to bridge this accountability gap by explicitly addressing the liability of legal persons. Through a systematic analysis of nearly a decade of state responses in the United Nations General Assembly’s Sixth Committee (2016–2024), the article maps patterns of support, ambivalence, and opposition to the provision. The findings reveal a gradual but notable shift towards recognition of corporate accountability, facilitated by the flexible wording of Draft Article 6(8), which allows states to establish criminal, civil, or administrative liability in line with domestic legal traditions. While a vocal minority continues to resist, often invoking doctrinal orthodoxy or the absence of customary law, an increasingly diverse group of states endorses the provision as a progressive development in international law. The article concludes that Draft Article 6(8) marks a normative breakthrough: even if its ultimate inclusion in a future convention remains uncertain, it signals an emerging international consensus that corporate actors must be part of the accountability framework for crimes against humanity.

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Journal of International Criminal Justice following peer review. The version of record: Alessandra De Tommaso, The Draft Articles on Crimes Against Humanity: Charting the Path for Corporate Accountability, Journal of International Criminal Justice, 2025;, mqaf052 is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqaf052