JUDGING MORE BY JUDGING LESS
ISSUES AND LIMITS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25234/pv/21105Keywords:
International Criminal Court, Rome Statute, United Nations Security Council, ‘Africa bias’, politicization, selectivityAbstract
With the International Criminal Court (ICC) losing not only its chance of incorporating the same great powers that decided not to support it at the very start – out of fear of losing dominance – but also about to lose long-time members such as the ones from the African Union, its chances of being a mean of institutionalized punishment against the worst individual crimes of international concern are trembling. Would the ICC obtain better outcomes if it discarded entirely its authority against member governments, and restricted its jurisdiction to cases suggested by the same countries where the crimes had been allegedly committed? The ICC could hence maintain an important role in the canalization of local jurisdictions through common, global rules: this way, even if through selective jurisdiction, it could at least limit and moderate the intentions of member States when dealing with inconvenient local enemies or oppositions. Through an analysis of the jurisdictional past of this institution and a contextualization of its controversial relationship with the United Nations (UN) Security Council, this paper aims to furnish a comparison of available outcomes, and elucidate the aforementioned possibility as an advantageous framework, although less ambitious. An eventual last focus will be put on the risks of the opposite trend, an ambitious but inefficient institution, possibly leading to the legitimization of its failures.
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Decision Assigning the Situation in the Republic of Kenya to Pre-Trial Chamber II, Case No ICC-01/09 (6 November 2009)
Decision Assigning the Situation in Uganda to Pre-Trial Chamber II, Case No ICC-02/04 (5 July 2004)
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Decision on the “Prosecution's Application Under Article 58(1) of the Rome Statute”, Case No ICC-01/09-01/15 (10 September 2015)
Decision on the Prosecution Application Under Article 58(7) of the Statute, Case No ICC-02/05-01/07 (29 April 2007)
Decision on the Prosecutor's Application Under Article 58 Relating to Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, Case No ICC-02/05-01/12 (1 March 2012)
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Decision on the Prosecutor’s Request for Authorization of an Investigation, Case No ICC-01/15 (27 January 2016)
Decision on the Prosecutor’s Request to Vacate the Effect of the Warrant of Arrest Issued Against Ms Simone Gbagbo, Case No ICC-02/11-01/12 (19 July 2021)
Decision Pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute on the Authorisation of an Investigation into the Situation in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh/Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Case No ICC-01/19 (14 November 2019)
Decision Pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute on the Authorization of an Investigation into the Situation in the Republic of Burundi, Case No ICC-01/17 (25 October 2017)
Decision Severing the Case Against Mr Gicheru, Case No ICC-01/09-01/15 (11 December 2020)
Decision Terminating the Proceedings Against Mr Jerbo, Case No ICC-02/05-03/09 (4 October 2013)
Decision to Terminate the Case Against Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi, Case No ICC-01/11-01/11 (22 November 2011)
Decision to Terminate the Proceedings Against Raska Lukwiya, Case No ICC-02/04-01/05 (11 July 2007)
Decision to Unseal the Warrant of Arrest Against Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, Case No ICC-01/04-02/07 (7 February 2008)
Judgment on the appeal of Mr Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo against Trial Chamber III’s “Judgment pursuant to Article 74 of the Statute”, Case No ICC-01/05-01/08 (8 June 2018)
Mandat d'Arrêt à l'Encontre de Germain Katanga, Case No ICC-01/04-01/07 (2 July 2007)
Prosecution's Notification of Disclosure of Evidence, Case No ICC-02/05-01/20 (24 December 2021)
Prosecutor's Application Pursuant to Article 58 as to Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi, Saif Al‐Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al‐Senussi, Case No ICC-01/11 (17 May 2011)
Sentencing judgment, Case No ICC-01/04-02/06 (7 November 2019)
Summons to Appear for Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, Case No ICC-02/05-02/09 (7 May 2009)
Warrant of Arrest, Case No ICC-01/11-01/17 (15 August 2017)
Warrant of Arrest for Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled with Under Seal and Ex Parte Annex, Case No ICC-01/11-01/13 (18 April 2013)
Warrant of Arrest for Walter Osapiri Barasa, Case No ICC-01/09-01/13 (26 September 2013)
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