Chapter 16. Genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes
Section 109. Responsibility of superiors
A military or civilian commander or person effectively acting as such is liable to punishment for breach of superior responsibility if persons under his authority and control commit a crime mentioned in sections 101 to 107, when the crime is a result of the commander or person’s failure to exercise control properly over them, and the commander or person
a) knew or should have known that the subordinates were committing or were about to commit such a crime, and
b) failed to take necessary and reasonable measures within his power to prevent or stop the crime, or to report the matter to a competent authority for prosecution,
The penalty is imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, but not exceeding 30 years if the crime is serious. When assessing whether the crime is serious, importance shall be attached to the degree of seriousness and scope of the crimes the subordinates have committed and the degree to which the superior is to be blamed.
In addition to other grounds of criminal responsibility under this Statute for crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court:
(b) With respect to superior and subordinate relationships not described in paragraph (a), a superior shall be criminally responsible for crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court committed by subordinates under his or her effective authority and control, as a result of his or her failure to exercise control properly over such subordinates, where:
(i) The superior either knew, or consciously disregarded information which clearly indicated, that the subordinates were committing or about to commit such crimes;
(ii) The crimes concerned activities that were within the effective responsibility and control of the superior; and
(iii) The superior failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures within his or her power to prevent or repress their commission or to submit the matter to the competent authorities for investigation and prosecution.