THE MODUS OPERANDI AND CRITIQUES OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) (original) (raw)
Objectives of International Criminal Law and Jurisdiction of ICC
Sociology and Anthropology, 2015
Although roots of criminal prosecutions are traced back in the 17 th and 18 th century but newly emerged discipline of international law namely international criminal law gained its scope after adoption Rome Statute. However, statute has not yet been universally accepted and various discrepancies have been raised by various states regarding the Jurisdiction and applicable procedure of International Criminal Court (ICC). Prior to the establishment of ICC, initially various international tribunals were established for the prosecutions of perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression, particularly after World War II. However, the prosecutions were subjected to serious criticism not only by the states representing the accused persons rather by the prosecuting states as well, on the grounds that all the prosecutions were partial in nature and even the same crimes were committed by the prosecution states but not a single individual was subjected to prosecutions from within the prosecuting states. Thereafter, instances have been reported of individual prosecutions till two decades back when again certain individuals including the heads of states were prosecuted for their alleged crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. All these events and previous prosecutions resulted in establishment of ICC, but the statute has not yet been ratified by most of the states on a number of reasons and the most relevant of them is the jurisdiction of the court. Although, all the concepts and types of jurisdiction are not controversial but most of the concerns have been shown regarding the universal jurisdiction of ICC, and all the related concepts which provide the action of a state outside the jurisdiction of a states.
DOI: 10.13189/sa.2015.030303 Objectives of International Criminal Law and Jurisdiction of ICC
2016
Although roots of criminal prosecutions are traced back in the 17th and 18th century but newly emerged discipline of international law namely international criminal law gained its scope after adoption Rome Statute. However, statute has not yet been universally accepted and various discrepancies have been raised by various states regarding the Jurisdiction and applicable procedure of International Criminal Court (ICC). Prior to the establishment of ICC, initially various international tribunals were established for the prosecutions of perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression, particularly after World War II. However, the prosecutions were subjected to serious criticism not only by the states representing the accused persons rather by the prosecuting states as well, on the grounds that all the prosecutions were partial in nature
Overview and Significance of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
A Brief History of International Criminal Law and International Criminal Court, 2017
Established as an intergovernmental organization, the International Criminal Court (the ICC or "the Court") is specifically designed to deal with the international crimes that are thought to be most severe and serious. It has generally been observed that the commissions of those crimes had gone unpunished, making the impunity of the perpetrators a usual and ordinary practice in international relations. Although the idea that a permanent international criminal court is strongly needed, and therefore, should be created, lingered for a very long time, the realization of that idea has become quite recently. Nation-states, the major and primary actors of the international system, have generally been lenient, if not reluctant, in addressing those kinds of acts. Particularly, concerns over sovereign rights of the states have made them reluctant to get together to discuss the issue up until 1998. Since sovereignty has been the underlying principle in the operation of the international system that is generally believed to be built by sovereign nation-states, states have long refrained from dealing with the issues pertinent to even the gravest crimes in order to show their tribute to the principle of nonintervention. As a consequence, apart from a few examples, human rights issues in
The Statute for an International Criminal Court and the United States: Peace Without Justice
Leiden Journal of International Law, 1999
The traditional practice of reserving criminal jurisdiction over members of peacekeeping operations for troop contributing states has certain disadvantages. The drafting of the Statute for an International Criminal Court (ICC) provided an opportunity to re-evaluate this practice and devise an improved one. The Statute that was adopted in Rome in July 1998 has been criticized by the Unites States for allowing prosecution of its peacekeepers by the ICC, which the US fears may lead to politicized prosecutions. This article discusses what changes the Statute entails with regard to the prosecution of peacekeepers. It argues that the traditional practice largely remains unaffected because the Statute includes a number of safeguards, a principal one being the notion of complementarity. The article concludes that the content of the Statute does not justify US fears and that it does not address the problems connected with the traditional system of criminal jurisdiction over peacekeepers.
BiLD Law Journal 5(1), 2020
This study is critically analysing the lack of universal jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as to why the ICC is denied universal jurisdiction and what are the consequences resulting therefrom on realisation of international criminal justice. Findings show that, lack of universal jurisdiction to the ICC defeats the initial purpose of setting up a permanent ICC. Because, some nationals whose nations are not state parties to the ICC cannot be prosecuted. Meaning, an individual can commit an international crime and go unpunished by the sole reason that his state is not a party to the ICC. Seeing this threat, the Rome Statute provides for some referrals. Accordingly, cases to the ICC can be referred by state party to the Rome Statute, or by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) when acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, or by non-state party when making declaration to accept the ICC jurisdiction in relation to a case, or by the prosecutor of the ICC by initiating investigations proprio motu. The important question to be asked is that are these referrals effective in obtaining international criminal justice? Evidently the issue is controversial. It is therefore important for the ICC to be accorded universal jurisdiction. This move is crucial in reducing often created ad hoc tribunals to serve the same purpose of which the ICC was created to serve. But also, the UNSC will be effective dealing with other matters of the international peace and security.
ROLE AND EFECTIVINESS OF THE ICC IN COMBATING CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
MUNYARADZI MOYO, 2021
After the end of the Cold it ushered in a new era where human security was adopted in relation to the safe guarding of well being of individuals. The whole process was born out of idealism where countries believed that there is more to gain from cooperating and regulating international justice. This was a shift from the use of ad hoc tribunals which were temporary such as the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunal. In a shift of victor justice associated with punishment or reparations and amnesties, the ICC was adopted as a mechanism to hold perpetrators of crimes against humanity accountable for their actions. This was due to legal problems as member states had no legal jurisdiction to persecute war criminals from another country. The ICC is intended to complement existing judicial systems through investigations and referrals. This saw the formation of the ICC through the Rome Statute which entered into force on 1 July 2002. As of June 2016 the ICC had 123 state parties. Humanity is understood as a virtue associated with basic ethics of altruism derived from the human condition. Transitional justice can be understood as encompassing a full range of processes and the use of mechanisms associated with a societies attempt to come to term with the legacy of large scale past abuses in order to serve justice(Annan 2004). Human security relates to the protection of an individuals personal safety from direct or indirect threats of violence. It is associated with the idealistic approach to addressing perceived threats.
ACHIEVEMENT AND FAILURES OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT MUTII ELVIS KIVOTO
The International Criminal Court (ICC) – based in The Hague in Netherlands – came into force in 2002. The court was given a special mandate to try cases, which dealt with crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. According to Hoile (2012), the United Nations convened a special meeting to discuss ways in which the ICC would develop. This was because centuries before there were crimes against humanity and no one was brought before a court. This was very important milestone after the Nuremberg trials. Lambert and Armstrong (2007) argues that the Nuremberg trials were important in prosecuting the Axis nations, which had caused most of the Human rights abuses in World War 2.