Criminal repression of CBRN-related violations which do not amount to international crimes

The purpose of this chapter is to give a comprehensive overview of international obligations concerning the criminal repression of CBRN-related violations which do not amount to international crimes. Indeed, while a number of CBRN-related violations may meet treaty and customary definitions of international crimes, international law requires States to criminalise and prosecute a broader range of CBRN events in their domestic legal systems. The first section provides some introductory remarks, proposing a taxonomy of applicable obligations and linking them to the different phases of the CBRN emergency management cycle. The second and third sections deal respectively with the two main obligations in this field, namely the obligation to criminalise and the obligation to prosecute. The analysis proves that obligations to criminalise aim at reinforcing the prevention of and preparedness against CBRN events, whereas obligations to prosecute govern the response to and recovery from CBRN-related violations. The fourth section turns to national implementation and sheds light on the consequences of the failure to criminalise and prosecute in terms of State responsibility, and specifically human rights responsibility for violations of the right to life.