Cooperation Between the United Nations and the International Criminal Court

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-246
Author(s):  
Tamara Cummings-John

As contemplated by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (‘Court’), the United Nations and the Court entered into a Relationship Agreement in 2004. The Relationship Agreement provides a framework for cooperation between the United Nations and the Court, including through logistical or administrative support to the Court, in particular in countries where the Prosecutor has opened investigations or is conducting preliminary examinations. The United Nations also provides substantive support and judicial assistance to the Court’s organs, in particular to the Prosecutor, but also increasingly now to the Defence, by making available documents and information generated or obtained by the United Nations and its various field presences. United Nations staff and experts have also been made available to the Court for interview and some have testified before the Court, for which the United Nations Secretary-General has to waive their immunity. This commentary provides an update on recent developments in two areas of cooperation between the United Nations and the court: information sharing, and contact with persons subject to warrants or summonses.

Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 126 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 126 deals with the entry into force of the Rome Statute. The Statute entered into force on the first day of the month after the sixtieth day following the date of the deposit of the sixtieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, that is, on July 1, 2002. For States that ratify, accept, approve, or accede after the entry into force of the Statute, it will enter into force for them on the first day of the month after the sixtieth day following the deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession.


Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 127 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 127 addresses the withdrawal of a State Party from this Statute. A State may withdraw from the Rome Statute by providing a written notification to the depositary, the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The withdrawal takes effect one year after receipt of the notification by the Secretary-General, unless a later date is specified. There have been no notifications of withdrawal from the Rome Statute. The Statute does not indicate whether a notice of withdrawal can itself be withdrawn, thereby returning the State to ordinary status as a Party. Withdrawal does not affect the continuation of the Statute with respect to other States Parties, even if the number of them falls below the threshold of sixty.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benson Chinedu Olugbuo

There are two questions with multiple answers regarding the relationship between Africa and the International Criminal Court. The first is whether the International Criminal Court is targeting Africa and the second is if politics plays any role in the decision to investigate and prosecute crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. For the African Union, the International Criminal Court has become a western court targeting weak African countries and ignoring the atrocities committed by big powers including permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The accusation by the African Union against the International Criminal Court leads to the argument that the International Criminal Court is currently politised. This is a charge consistently denied by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The aim of this paper is to discuss the relationship between the United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court and the African Union. It articulates the role of the three institutions in the fight against impunity and the maintenance of international peace and security with reference to the African continent. The paper argues that complementarity should be applied to regional organisations and that the relationship between the African Union and the International Criminal Court should be guided by the application of positive complementarity and a nuanced approach to the interests of justice. This offers the International Criminal Court and the African Union an opportunity to develop mutual trust and result-oriented strategies to confront the impunity on the continent. The paper further argues that the power of the United Nations Security Council to refer situations to the International Criminal Court and defer cases before the Court is a primary source of the disagreement between the prosecutor and the African Union and recommends a division of labour between the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Security Council.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Aloisi

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a judicial body that has been created as a politically independent judicial institution to prosecute the most serious international crimes. However, the political independence of the Court has been questioned considerably in the past decade because of the relationship between the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which has the power to refer or defer situations to the Court, and the ICC. In this work, I argue that in analyzing the relationship between the UNSC and ICC it is evident that clashing political and judicial interests have done a disservice to the implementation of international justice. I will focus on the two instances of referrals so far approved by the UNSC and highlight some of the political aspects that seem to be hindering and delaying, in spite of international pressures for UNSC attention, a referral of the situation in Syria.


2001 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 867-885
Author(s):  
Paul C. Szasz ◽  
Thordis Ingadottir

The Relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the International Criminal Court should contain provisions governing situations where requests from the Court might impinge on the privileges and immunities of the UN under its Charter and Privileges and Immunities Convention. In particular, the Court might need access to documents in the UN's archives, might require the testimony of persons serving, or having served, the UN in various capacities and might even consider some such persons as potential defendants; in addition, the inclusion of such provisions might make it advisable to include an effective disputes resolution clause in the Agreement.


Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 125 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 125 governs the mechanisms by which States become parties to the Rome Statute. While a signature of a treaty may, under certain circumstances, constitute a means of indicating a State's acceptance to be bound by the treaty's provisions, in the context of the Rome Statute signature is only a preliminary act — ‘a first step to participation’. It must be followed by deposit of an instrument of ratification, approval, or accession for the State to become a party to the Statute. The article also establishes, although somewhat implicitly, that the Secretary-General of the United Nations is the depositary of the Statute.


Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 115 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 115, in a sense, completes article 114, confirming that the funds of the Court are derived from the States Parties. Specifically, it states that the expenses of the Court and the Assembly of States Parties, including its Bureau and subsidiary bodies, as provided for in the budget decided by the Assembly of States Parties, shall be provided the following sources: assessed contributions made by States Parties; and funds provided by the United Nations, subject to the approval of the General Assembly, in particular in relation to the expenses incurred due to referrals by the Security Council.


Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 114 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 114 states that the expenses of the Court and the Assembly of States Parties, including its Bureau and subsidiary bodies, shall be paid from the funds of the Court. Article 114 has been described as an attempt to avoid a practice resulting from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea whereby the Secretary-General pays for meetings of States Parties and other bodies out of the general budget. Thus, should the Secretary-General host meetings, any expenses incurred, for example for Secretariat services, must be paid by the Court, not the United Nations.


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