NGOs for International Justice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kjersti Lohne
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Justice ◽  
Relative Lack ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Oriented Approach

Kjersti Lohne describes the impact of non-governmental organizations at the International Criminal Court (ICC), in particular discussing the relative lack of regard for defendants’ rights, and especially highlighting the difficulties encountered by those acquitted. After the Coalition for the International Criminal Court contributed to the establishment of the ICC itself in the fight against impunity for international crimes, that Coalition has continued a victim-oriented approach, arguably at the expense of defendants’ rights. The ICC’s focus on victims, ‘truth’, and ‘memory’ may challenge the legitimacy of the Court in the longer run.

The ‘End’, the ‘Beginning of the End’ or the ‘End of the Beginning’? Introducing Debates and Voices on the Definition of ‘Aggression’

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 875-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARSTEN STAHN
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Constructive Dialogue ◽  
Significant Step ◽  
Broad Variety ◽  
Age Of Accountability ◽  
Definition Of

On 11 June 2010, the first Review Conference of the International Criminal Court (ICC) adopted Resolution RC/Res. 6 on the ‘Crime of Aggression’ by consensus, after years of debates and negotiations in the framework of the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court and the Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression. The resolution includes a definition of the crime of aggression and the conditions under which the Court could exercise jurisdiction with respect to the crime, while making the actual exercise of jurisdiction ‘subject to a decision to be taken after 1 January 2017’ by states parties. This outcome has triggered a broad variety of reactions. The UN praised it as a ‘historic agreement’ and a significant step towards a new ‘age of accountability’. Some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have expressed concerns that the compromise deepens the gaps between states and leaves accountability loopholes. US legal advisor Harold Koh qualified the compromise as an opportunity for further constructive dialogue and positive engagement with the ICC.

scholarly journals The Quiet Expansion of Universal Jurisdiction

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 779-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Máximo Langer ◽  
Mackenzie Eason
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Universal Jurisdiction ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Institutional Learning ◽  
Geographical Scope

Abstract Based on an original worldwide survey of all universal jurisdiction complaints over core international crimes presented between 1961 and 2017 and against widespread perception by international criminal law experts that universal jurisdiction is in decline, this article shows that universal jurisdiction practice has been quietly expanding as there has been a significant growth in the number of universal jurisdiction trials, in the frequency with which these trials take place year by year and in the geographical scope of universal jurisdiction litigation. This expansion is likely the result of, among other factors, the adoption of International Criminal Court implementing statutes, the creation of specialized international crimes units by states, institutional learning by states and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), technological changes, new migration and refugee waves to universal jurisdiction states, criticisms of international criminal law as neo-colonial and the search of new venues by human rights NGOs. The expansion of universal jurisdiction has been quiet because most tried defendants have been low-level, universal jurisdiction states have not made an effort to publicize these trials and observers have wrongly assumed that Belgium and Spain were representative of universal jurisdiction trends. The article finally assesses positive and negative aspects of the quiet expansion of universal jurisdiction for its defenders and critics.

The Moral Legacy of the ICTY

2020 ◽  
pp. 62-68
Author(s):  
Miguel de Serpa Soares
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Justice ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Accountability System ◽  
Age Of Accountability ◽  
Moral Legacy

The chapter sets the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) legacy into context from a broader UN perspective. It shows that ideas of morality and responsibility are fundamental to the establishment of the ICTY and a cornerstone of the ‘age of accountability’. The chapter argues that the ICTY had a pioneering role in shaping discourse on international justice and serious international crimes and institutional developments, ranging from the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) to the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM). It discusses four challenges that are fundamental to the development of an international accountability system: the financing of international criminal court and tribunals; the length of proceedings; the development of governance mechanisms; and the centrality of the role of victims. The chapter concludes that, in an ideal world, institutions such as the ICTY would not be needed. However, until such a time arrives, the legacy of the ICTY can provide important insights on building domestic capacity and guiding other international tribunals.

scholarly journals The International Criminal Court: A Failure of International Justice for Victims?

2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 957 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelisiana Thynne
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Justice ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
The Status ◽  
Gender Based

The International Criminal Court marked its tenth anniversary in 2008. In conjunction with that milestone, this article considers the status of international justice in the context of victims’ rights in the Court’s proceedings. The author presents a case study of the Thomas Lubanga Dyilo case and, in doing so, explores the reasons why the Court might already be failing to provide international justice for victims of international crimes. The article specifically discusses the rights of victims of gender-based crimes and the intersection between victims and justice in the Court. The author also offers suggestions of how the Court can better achieve international justice for victims as it moves forward with its first cases.

Myanmar

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Haacke
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Communal Violence ◽  
Internal Armed Conflict ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Cyclone Nargis

Myanmar has been linked to alleged past and potential future mass atrocities by international non-governmental organizations and, at times, the UN Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights. To date there has been no international commission of inquiry, let alone any referral to the International Criminal Court. Looking beyond controversial efforts to justify the forcible delivery of assistance following Naypyidaw’s problematic response to Cyclone Nargis, this chapter contextualizes and describes the extent of alleged R2P atrocities in Myanmar, outlines how the Myanmar government as well as the United Nations and regional organizations such as ASEAN and other key actors in the international community have implemented R2P either directly or indirectly, and offers a provisional explanation as regards the limited nature of the international community’s response to concerns that Naypyidaw has at least at times failed to exercise its R2P in the contexts of internal armed conflict and communal violence.

scholarly journals Tilting at windmills: Reparations and the International Criminal Court

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Luke Moffett ◽  
Clara Sandoval
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Crimes

Abstract More than 20 years on from the signing of the Rome Statute, delivering victim-centred justice through reparations has been fraught with legal and practical challenges. The Court’s jurisprudence on reparations only began to emerge from 2012 and struggles to find purchase on implementation on the ground. In its first few cases of Lubanga, Katanga, and Al Mahdi the eligibility and forms of reparations have been limited to certain victims, subject to years of litigation, and faced difficulties in delivery due to ongoing insecurity. This is perhaps felt most acutely in the Bemba case, where more than 5,000 victims of murder, rape and pillage were waiting for redress, and the defendant was not indigent, but where he was later acquitted on appeal, thereby extinguishing reparation proceedings. This article critically appraises the jurisprudence and practice of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on reparations. It looks at competing principles and rationales for reparations at the Court in light of comparative practice in international human rights law and transitional justice processes to consider what is needed to ensure that the ICC is able to deliver on its reparations mandate. An underpinning argument is that reparations at the ICC cannot be seen in isolation from other reparation practices in the states where the Court operates. Reparative complementarity for victims of international crimes is essential to maximize the positive impact that the fulfilment of this right can have on victims and not to sacrifice the legitimacy of the Court, nor quixotically strive for the impossible.

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