Judicialization and its Challenges

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philippe Sands
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Small Community ◽  
Late Professor ◽  
International Courts ◽  
National Courts ◽  
The Future

As an epilogue to the volume, Philippe Sands lays out several of the challenges to international courts. He recalls conversations with the late Professor Vladimir Ibler from Croatia, who recommended that one should not draw conclusions about the legitimacy of international courts and tribunals (ICs) too quickly. Sands reminds us that international courts and tribunals are young, compared to national courts. Several of the ICs have encountered challenges, from accusations that the International Criminal Court is a neo-colonial instrument, to revelations about leakages and unacceptable communication in the boundary arbitration between Croatia and Slovenia. Sands encourages the relatively small community of practitioners and scholars engaged in the workings of ICs to speak out about the deficiencies of the system. However, he ends on a positive note with a sense of optimism for the future of the international courts and tribunals.

Home-State Interest, Nationalism, and the Legitimacy of the International Criminal Court

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Nathan T. Carrington ◽  
Claire Sigsworth
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Domestic Institutions ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
International Courts ◽  
Home State ◽  
Institutional Costs ◽  
Nationally Representative

Although legitimacy is crucial for courts’ efficacy, the sources identified as legitimizing domestic institutions are weaker or absent altogether for international institutions. We use an original, preregistered, nationally representative survey experiment to show that perceived home-state interest strongly affects the legitimacy afforded by UK citizens to the International Criminal Court. Importantly, this relationship is moderated by nationalism. Our findings have implications for state actors in a position to act vis-á-vis international courts, elites seeking to alter opinions toward courts, and courts themselves weighing possible institutional costs of acting against noncompliant states.

International Criminal Court

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (9) ◽  
pp. 41-51
Author(s):  
Charles B.A Ubah ◽  
Osy E. Nwebo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Justice System ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Domestic Jurisdiction ◽  
National Governments

The principle of domestic jurisdiction in international law makes national governments responsible for protecting their citizens, investigating alleged abuses of human rights in their countries and bringing the perpetrators to justice. They governments may also extradite those accused of abuse of human rights to any other states prepared to give them a fair trial. Problem arises however, when governments are unable or unwilling to perform this duty or are themselves perpetrators of these crimes. Thus, millions of people have fallen victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of humanitarian laws. But only very few of these perpetrators have been brought to justice in national courts as many governments claim sanctuary under the principle of domestic jurisdiction. The need therefore arises for the international community to act in order to protect helpless or defenseless citizens from being victims of crimes against humanity and human rights abuses, by bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice. The thrust of this article therefore, is that the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) fills this void by fulfilling a central and pivotal goal in international jurisprudence. This article, therefore, provides insights and lessons into the history and prospects of the International Criminal Court. These are insights and lessons that are too important and too costly to ignore in the 21st century understanding of international criminal justice system.

From Classroom to a Criminal Courtroom

2021 ◽  
pp. 31-38
Author(s):  
Theodor Meron
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Ethical Conduct ◽  
Reasonable Doubt ◽  
International Courts ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
The Core ◽  
Criminal Courtroom

This chapter discusses the author’s transition from being a teacher to being an international criminal Judge. The life of a Judge is much more circumscribed by rules and traditions than the life of a teacher. Both national and international courts have typically adopted codes of professional and ethical conduct, which often include or are accompanied by disciplinary rules to ensure compliance and accountability. It is important to understand that the core mandate of an international criminal court is to try individuals within a governing legal framework and to determine whether—given the specific evidence presented and admitted by the court—the responsibility of an individual accused of international crimes has been established beyond reasonable doubt. The chapter then recounts the author’s experience as an international criminal Judge and assesses whether academics make good criminal Judges.

Remarks at the Maastricht Seminar for the List of Counsel before the International Criminal Court

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 937-945
Author(s):  
Herman von Hebel
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
The Future ◽  
Constructive Discussion

These preliminary remarks present a vision for the future of the victims and defence functions in the International Criminal Court (icc). They purport to provoke an inspiring and constructive discussion about the ReVision project presented by the icc Registrar, and they are made on the basis of some of the fundamental principles that apply to the role of counsel equally regardless of whom they represent in the proceedings – defence, victims, witnesses, or States.

The Creation and Expansion of the International Criminal Court: A Legal Explanation

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Justyna Powell ◽  
Sara McLaughlin Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
State Level ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Legal Systems ◽  
International Courts ◽  
The Creation

International courts have proliferated in the international system in the past century, with one hundred judicial or quasi-judicial bodies currently in existence. While the supply of international courts has increased substantially, state level support for international courts varies across states, across courts, and over time. This paper focuses on the cross-sectional and temporal variation in state level support for a particular court, the International Criminal Court (ICC). The authors argue that domestic legal systems create different predispositions with respect to states’ willingness to join adjudicatory bodies and the design of their commitments to international courts. Negotiators involved in the creation of the ICC pushed for rules and procedures that mimicked those of their domestic legal systems to help reduce uncertainty regarding the court’s future behavior and decision-making processes. This interesting process of legal bargaining led to the creation of a sui generis court, one which represents a mixture of common law and civil law systems. The hybrid nature of the court’s design enhanced the attractiveness of the court to civil and common law states, making them significantly more likely to sign and ratify the Rome Statute. Empirical models demonstrate that common and civil law states were fervent supporters of the ICC in preliminary negotiations and that they have shown higher levels of support for the Court since the ICC’s inception in comparison to Islamic law or mixed law states.

International Criminal Court Code of Conduct for the Office of the Prosecutor

2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-412
Author(s):  
Lawrence Pacewicz
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Ethical Conduct ◽  
The Future

On September 5, 2013, the Code of Conduct for the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP Code) adopted by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the International Criminal Court (Court or ICC) entered into force, a little over a year after the commencement of the term of the current Prosecutor, Mrs. Fatou Bensouda. Though the Code fills an important void in the regulation of OTP ethical conduct, its provenance and content mean that much will depend on the manner in which it is applied in the future.

Limitations of the Ordinary-Crimes Approach to the International Crime of Rape: the Case of Uganda

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 266-297
Author(s):  
Emma Charlene Lubaale
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Crime ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Principle Of Legality

Abstract Not many states have effective national laws on prosecution of international crimes. Presently, of the 124 states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), less than half have specific national legislation incorporating international crimes. Some faith has been placed in the ordinary-crimes approach; the assumption being that states without effective laws on international crimes can prosecute on the basis of ordinary crimes. This article assesses the practicality of this approach with regard to the crime of rape in Uganda. Based on this assessment, the author draws a number of conclusions. First, that there are glaring gaps in the Ugandan definition of rape, making it impossible for it to be relied on. Secondly, although national courts have the option to interpret national laws with a view to aligning them with international law, the gaps salient in the definition of ordinary rape are too glaring; they cannot be remedied by way of interpretation without undermining the principle of legality. Thirdly, prosecuting the international crime of rape as an ordinary crime suggests that approaches applicable to the prosecution of ordinary rape will be invoked. Because these approaches were never intended to capture the reality of the international crime of rape, the ordinary-crimes approach remains illusory.

Kimberly Prost

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 243-244
Author(s):  
Kimberly Prost
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Context ◽  
International Courts ◽  
International Court ◽  
Judicial Role

This is one of the issues that is perhaps the most challenging for judges who come to international courts from a national context. It is particularly important that a judge understands the political context in which they are judging. There is a tendency to say—and I have heard many colleagues at the ICTY and International Criminal Court (ICC) saying—“I am going to keep completely out of the politics because that's none of my business, I'm here to just to do my judicial role.” With great respect I think that is a fundamental mistake, because the reality is if a judge is going to defend her independence on an international court, she really has to understand the political context in which she is defending it.

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