scholarly journals Reimagining the icc: Exploring Practitioners’ Perspectives on the Effectiveness of the International Criminal Court

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Samaria Muhammad ◽  
Barbora Holá ◽  
Anja Dirkzwager
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Considerable Potential ◽  
Administrative Functions ◽  
Solid Foundation ◽  
Symbolic Value ◽  
State Cooperation

Abstract This exploratory study documents International Criminal Court (icc) personnel’s perspectives on the effectiveness of the icc. It examines practitioner views on the icc’s goals, strengths, weaknesses, and effectiveness. Interviews with nine professionals from the Office of the Prosecutor, Defense, and Chambers reveal several themes. Professionals agreed upon the icc’s greatest strengths: its foundation and its symbolic value. They also named common weaknesses, including its reliance on state cooperation, challenges in administrative functions, and, from the perspective of largely Defense personnel, an unfair disadvantage against the Defense. While personnel often agreed upon which factors needed improvement, they diverged on precisely how to improve them. However, they alluded to several potential paths forward. Interviews ultimately suggested the Court has several areas requiring improvement, but a solid foundation and considerable potential. These interviews coincide with ongoing reviews of the Court, providing a fuller picture of its effectiveness.

scholarly journals Reforming the International Criminal Court (ICC): Progress, Perils and Pitfalls Post the ICC Review Process

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-42
Author(s):  
Jeremy Julian Sarkin
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Review Process ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Core Theme ◽  
Role Players ◽  
To Come ◽  
State Cooperation

Summary The International Criminal Court is a very controversial institution. It is extensively criticised by both its critics and its supporters. This article examines what steps have been taken to reform the Court. It considers issues such as the need for better communications and messaging by the Court. The paper takes up how and why the Court needs to engage better and in more far-reaching ways with a host of role players that affect the terrain in which the Court operates. It is argued that more reform is needed in how the Court is lead, how it operates, and who the judges and staff are. It is argued that greater diversity is needed at the Court. Also taken up are how the reach of the Court can be increased beyond only prosecutions, how the Court can assist states to prosecute more cases themselves, and how the Court can become more victim centred. A core theme is how state cooperation can be enhanced. A range of suggestions are made so as to enhance the role of the Court in the years to come.

Reforming the International Criminal Court (icc) to Achieve Increased State Cooperation in Investigations and Prosecutions of International Crimes

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-61
Author(s):  
Jeremy Sarkin
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
The United States ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Defensive Strategies ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Set Up ◽  
United Nations System ◽  
State Cooperation

This article examines the issue of state cooperation with the International Criminal Court (icc), and why it is vitally needed to achieve the institution’s mandate, including that of human rights protection. The article examines why state cooperation with the icc is so important and what issues undermine it, including disputes with the African Union, but many other issues as well. It surveys what the icc has done to promote cooperation and what steps ought to be taken to try and enhance state cooperation in the future. This is timely as the icc has set up a review process in 2020 to deal with a range of problems including state non-cooperation. The article therefore examines the practices and procedures of the Court, matters concerning its judges and staff, issues around the appointment of a new prosecutor, as well as and judicial appointments, as well as its jurisprudence. The article examines the issues that ought to be addressed, as well as how a variety of actors could better assist the Court, including the Security Council, the wider United Nations system, and the methodology for doing so. The article also reviews what defensive strategies can be taken up to defend the Court, including against aggressive anti-icc actors, such as the United States of America, who are ramping up their attacks on the Court and its personnel.

Part 10 Enforcement: Exécution, Art.111 Escape/Évasion

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Schabas William A
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
The State ◽  
General Sense ◽  
Original State ◽  
State Cooperation

This chapter comments on Article 111 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 111 sets out measures in the event of escape of a convicted person. The Rome Statute combines ‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’ approaches to State cooperation, allowing either the State of enforcement or the Court itself to intervene, depending on the circumstances. The Court may choose to return the escaped prisoner to the original State of enforcement, or to change the State of enforcement. Given the Court's authority to oversee and review enforcement in a general sense, even if this provision were not included in the Statute the consequences of escape would probably be the same.

Implications of Stripping Immunities of Heads of States on State Cooperation and the Effectiveness of Trial

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-93
Author(s):  
Patrick Kimani
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Head Of State ◽  
Invisibility Cloak ◽  
The Hague ◽  
State Cooperation

The development of international criminal law in the last seven decades has seen a gradual erosion of the integrity of immunities for heads of states. The journey from Nuremberg to The Hague has resulted in a permanent international criminal court. Article 27(2) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (the Rome Statute) disregards immunities as an effective bar to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Heads of states have been stripped of their ‘invisibility cloak’ from international criminal prosecutions. The Rome Statute places its reliance on the situation state’s authorities to cooperate with the ICC in its investigation and prosecution of crimes. A special tension is noticeable in circumstances where an incumbent head of state is accused at ICC while his or her state is placed under the general cooperation obligation. This tension is clearly manifest in the two criminal processes against Uhuru Kenyatta and Al Bashir. Bearing in mind the significant political muscle a sitting head of state wields in their state, it is quite likely that their state’s authorities will be very reluctant to discharge their cooperation obligations. The prosecution of sitting heads of states remains a challenge. Is it time to rethink the structure of the ICC or the implementation of the Statute?

The Fifth Session of the UN Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court

1998 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Keith Hall
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
The United States ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Short Summary ◽  
Preparatory Committee ◽  
Working Groups ◽  
The Chairs ◽  
State Cooperation ◽  
Open Working

The Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (Preparatory Committee or committee) held its fifth session from December 1 to 12, 1997. The Preparatory Committee, chaired by Adriaan Bos (the Netherlands), conducted most of its work in five open working groups to consider (1) definitions of war crimes, (2) general principles of criminal law, (3) penalties, (4) procedural matters, and (5) state cooperation. Three of the working groups were assisted by small drafting groups focusing on particular articles; in the other two working groups, the chairs undertook the task of drafting revised texts in the light of the discussion. The following short summary discusses some of the major decisions adopted by the five working groups; the positions of some of the states, including the United States, that were active on these issues; and the plans of the Preparatory Committee for its final session (March 16 to April 3, 1998) before the five-week diplomatic conference opens in Rome on June 15, 1998.

Witnesses before the International Criminal Court

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Ntube Ngane
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
General Rule ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Witness Testimony ◽  
Protection Scheme ◽  
Judicial Authority ◽  
State Cooperation

AbstractIt is an established rule of international law that all witnesses shall testify at the seat of the court. The witness scheme of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a complex one which provides for direct and indirect judicial authority over witnesses. This article grabbles with the complexities of the ICC procedural rules with regard to witnesses, concentrating on three components in the ICC witness scheme: testimony, cooperation and protection. Part I of this article examines the general rule of witness testimony before the Court and different alternatives for the giving of testimonial evidence when a witness cannot be present before the Court. The ICC's powers to compel witnesses are extremely limited and it is forced to rely on traditional legal assistance such as depositions. Part II discusses the exercise of indirect judicial authority by the Court through the assistance of States in relation to witnesses. It analyses provisions on State cooperation with witnesses, national implementing legislation with regard to witnesses and assesses the effectiveness of this legislation. The subsequent practice of State Parties as reflected by their implementing legislation on witnesses proves that a consistent practice does not exist. This section also examines the cooperation between the ICC and international organisations as regards witnesses. Part III examines the ICC Witness Protection Scheme; it looks at the ways in which witnesses are protected and it cites the practice of other tribunals. It then looks at the ICC's Victims and Witness Unit vis-à-vis the policies and mechanisms in place.

The International Criminal Court: Reforming the Politics of International Justice

2003 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spyros Economides
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
International Justice ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Legal Institution ◽  
Cumulative Process ◽  
Historical Antecedents ◽  
State Cooperation

AbstractThe International Criminal Court (ICC) came into effect on 1 July 2002. This article gives an account of the historical background to the ICC and an overview of the Court's Statute, remit and powers. It is argued that the ICC is a highly politicized legal institution which will only be effective through inter-state cooperation. Despite its lengthy historical antecedents and legal precedents, prudence suggests that — due to the nature of international politics — the establishment of the ICC should be viewed as the beginning of a cumulative process of reforming the politics of international justice rather than the end of a process of transformation in international law.

Part 11 Assembly of States Parties: Assemblée Des États Parties, Art.112 Assembly of States Parties/Assemblée des États Parties

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Schabas William A
Keyword(s):  
Significant Influence ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
Rome Statute ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Administrative Functions ◽  
Continuous Basis ◽  
Rules Of Procedure ◽  
The Law

This chapter comments on Article 112 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 112 establishes the Assembly of States Parties. The Assembly plays an important role in the operations of the Court, acting in its own right and through its subsidiary bodies such as the Committee on Budget and Finance. The Assembly meets once a year for about two weeks. Its responsibilities are assured on a continuous basis through its permanent Secretariat and its Bureau. In addition to what are essentially administrative functions, the Assembly of States Parties also has a legislative role. Through adoption and amendment of the Elements of Crimes and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence it exercises a significant influence upon the law applicable before the Court. It is also, together with the review conferences, the forum for amendments to the Rome Statute itself.

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