This is an endeavour to find a unified approach to the doctrine of mens rea in the sphere of international criminal law, based on an in-depth comparative analysis of the world’s major
legal systems and the jurisprudence of international criminal tribunals. The study also examines the general principles that underlie the various approaches to the subjective element
required in perpetration and participation in crimes and the interrelation between mistake of law and mistake of fact with the subjective element.