The Discursive Construction of Legal Norms and Institutions: Law and Politics in Negotiations on the International Criminal Court

Author(s):  
Nicole Deitelhoff
Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 98 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 98 emerged in the context of the debate on grounds to refuse surrender and assistance. The Rome Statute has the potential to conflict with other obligations of States under international law, whether pursuant to customary international law or treaty. In particular, they are required to respect the immunities of diplomats and international officials. States that allow military activity by foreign troops on their territory often have agreements, known as ‘status of forces agreements’ (SOFAs). Article 98 governs these conflicts by, in effect, making obligations of arrest and surrender under the Statute subordinate to other legal norms.


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max du Plessis ◽  
Charles C. Jalloh ◽  
Dapo Akande

AbstractThis article assesses the African Union’s (AU) concerns about Article 16 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It seeks to articulate a clearer picture of the law and politics of deferrals within the context of the AU’s repeated calls to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC, or the Council) to invoke Article 16 to suspend the processes initiated by the ICC against President Omar Al Bashir of Sudan. The Council’s failure to accede to the AU request led African States to formally withhold cooperation from the ICC in respect to the arrest and surrender of the Sudanese leader. Given the AU’s continued concerns, and the current impasse, fundamental questions have arisen about the Council’s authority to exercise, or not exercise, its deferral power. This culminated into a November 2009 African proposal for an amendment to the Rome Statute to empower the UN General Assembly to act should the UNSC fail to act on a deferral request after six months. Although ICC States Parties have so far shown limited public support for the AU’s proposed amendment to the deferral provision, this article examines its merits because a failure to engage the “Article 16 problem” could impact international accountability efforts in the Sudan, and further damage the ICC’s credibility in Africa. This unresolved issue also has wider significance given that the matters underlying the tension ‐ how ICC prosecutions may be reconciled with peacemaking initiatives and the role and power of the Council in ICC business ‐ will likely arise in future situations from around the world.


Author(s):  
Mikkel Jarle Christensen

This article examines how the perestroika gave rise to a new legal thinking that helped spark a broader transformation of international law and governance. Building on the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, the article analyzes the emergence and short-lived influence of the professionals behind the new legal thinking of the perestroika. This elite operated at the crossroads between international and domestic law and politics. At this juncture, and in an attempt to safeguard and solidify their own position, they promoted the primacy of international law over politics by calling for, among other things, the establishment of an international criminal court. Building on the thinking of this elite that coexisted with concurrent streams of investments into international law from both East and West, a geopolitical window for new criminal law initiatives beyond the state was opened. It was in this brief window of opportunity that the field of international criminal justice was developed as a reflection of a wider universalist promise of establishing legal primacy in international governance.


Author(s):  
Schabas William A

This chapter comments on Article 51 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 51 sets out the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which have been described as ‘an instrument for the application of the Rome Statute’. They contain more than 225 distinct provisions, many of which are comprised of several paragraphs. The Rules of Procedure and Evidence provide for an intermediate level of legal norms, sitting between the Rome Statute itself and the policies and procedures adopted by the judges. It provides the Assembly of States Parties, which adopts the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, with a flexible mechanism, one that can be amended quickly and efficiently. The Rules of Procedure and Evidence sit at the same level of applicable law as the Elements of Crimes. The former are essentially procedural, the latter substantive.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cale Davis

The International Criminal Court (icc) sits at the perfect crossroad of law and politics. As a primarily consent-based legal system, the icc is only effective to the extent that it has the political support from states who want to see it succeed in its mission to end impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. Despite this, the Prosecutor’s interpretation of the ‘interests of justice’ criterion limits the extent to which the Prosecutor can consider the political ramifications of their actions. This article argues that the Prosecutor has legal grounds to consider politics in their analysis of whether proceeding with an investigation or prosecution would not be in the ‘interests of justice’. This article also argues that soft power theory can be used to overcome arguments that politics should not be considered in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, due to the consent-based nature of the icc regime.


1999 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danesh Sarooshi

The conclusion and adoption of the Statute of a permanent International Criminal Court2 (“Statute”) in Rome in July 19983 represent a turning point in the enforcement of legal norms regulating armed conflict. Th e Rom e Conference was the latest, and most important, chapter in a long saga concerning the broader issue of the conclusion and adoption of a Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind, an important part of which was the establishment of an international criminal court to try such crimes.4 The International Law Commission (ILC), the UN organ responsible for the preparation of the Code,5 decided to separate the two objectives and to proceed with the drafting of a statute for an international criminal court that was distinct from the Draft Code of Crimes: the ILC envisaged a court that would exercise jurisdiction in respect of crimes of international concern which existed as such in various treaties already in force.6 This approach is reflected in the provisions of the Statute adopted at Rom e concerning the jurisdiction of the Court, as explained below.7


Author(s):  
Marco Bocchese

Abstract This article investigates the stark variation in elite appraisals of the performance of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Based on an online survey of diplomats posted to the UN headquarters, this article determines which country situations under ICC scrutiny respondents regard as successes or failures and, in turn, what parameters underpin their views. It also asks about negative cases; that is, country situations that never made it to The Hague due to political considerations. This article makes a two-fold contribution to the study of international law and politics. First, it shows that diplomats conceptualize international justice in terms of ongoing prosecutions and convictions obtained. Thus, they downplay indirect effects such as positive complementarity. Interestingly, scholars and diplomats agree on the court’s fiascos, yet dissent on successes. Finally, diplomats have proved tired of political considerations obstructing international justice. Survey data reveals that they want the court to investigate situations involving major powers.


Legal Ukraine ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 62-71
Author(s):  

Ukraine’s recognition of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court will further require effective cooperation with this international judicial institution. Unfortunately, the current criminal procedure legislation is marked by significant shortcomings that hinder such cooperation. However, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the draft. The Law of Ukraine «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Cooperation with the International Criminal Court» may radically change the situation. The establishment of the International Criminal Court has been a great achievement for the international community in the fight against the most serious crimes that threaten general peace, security and international cooperation. In exercising jurisdiction under the Rome Statute of 1998, the International Criminal Court may prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression, but certain procedural actions, such as arrest, whereabouts or items, searches, he can not carry out independently. In investigating, prosecuting and enforcing judgments, the International Criminal Court cooperates with States in investigating and gathering evidence, making arrests, transferring defendants and enforcing judgments. In this regard, it can be emphasized that the functioning and activity of such an international judicial body directly depends on the effective cooperation of states with it. In turn, the cooperation of states with the International Criminal Court in the field of international criminal proceedings should be based on legal norms and principles that will ensure the latter’s realization of its goals and objectives. The international community has long sought to establish a permanent international criminal court, but this issue has always been postponed for a long time due to differences. Key words: international judicial institution, International criminal court, grounds for international cooperation, transfer of a person, international agreement.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 28
Author(s):  
Sandy Kurnia Christmas

The International Criminal Court is an international criminal justice institution established in the context of struggle against impunity. Eighteen years of operation of the ICC since 2002, ICC experienced a case where the state it one by one withdraw from membership, such as South Africa, Burundi, Gambia and the Philippines, which is due to the inclusion of ICC investigations related to these state as well as several reasons related to the existence of discriminatory ICC judicial operations patterns. What is the implementation of ICC legal norms by state parties, and how the impact on the existence of ICC is what will be discussed in this study. The research method used is Socio-Legal Research, which examines the relationship between juridical and political aspects. The results of this study conclude some evidence related to the implementation of ICC legal norms by withdrawing party states, such as the background to ratifying the Rome Statute 1998, the implementation of the law, and the reasons for withdrawing the country, as well as some juridical and political impacts affecting the existence of the ICC.


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