This book investigates the legal and moral viability of the mistake of law defense within the framework of international criminal justice. Antonio Coco, a scholar at the University of Essex, examines how international tribunals reconcile the principle of individual criminal responsibility with the potential for defendants to claim ignorance of complex international legal standards. The work argues that the application of this defense requires a nuanced understanding of both domestic precedents and the specific objectives of international criminal law.

Legal scholars and practitioners identify this work as a rigorous contribution to the discourse on international criminal responsibility. Experts frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a foundational text for those studying the intersection of mens rea and international legal norms.