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Ronakk Tijoriwala
1 July 2024 |
On 01 July 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established as a result of the adoption of the Rome Statute, a treaty that had been adopted by 120 countries on 17 July 1998. Created to prosecute cases that involve some of the most horrific human rights violations in the international community, the ICC is tasked with the responsibility of prosecuting “individuals responsible for the most serious crimes under international law, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.” Also known as a “court of last resort,” the ICC has a non-retroactive jurisdiction, and can only intervene when States are unwilling or unable to investigate perpetrators of crimes against humanity or war crimes.
From the Rome Statute to the ICC
Rome Statute can be pegged on the outcome of the Second World War and more particularly, the Nuremberg Trials which sought to punish war criminals.Such trials were general and failed to stop genocides. In subsequent conflicts for instance in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia international efforts to bring to book heinous criminals proved inadequate hence the need for a permanent international criminal tribunal. These two were the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda commonly referred to as ICTR and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in short, ICTY and they revealed not only the need for the formulation of mechanisms of prosecution of war crimes, genocide and other mass atrocities but also the difficulties that where bound to be encountered along this course.
To meet these challenges, the International Law Commission that operates under the auspices of the United Nations was involved in the preparation of the text of the Rome Statute. The representatives from international community met in Rome to discuss and ratify the treaty intended to create a permanent court through which people could be charged for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crimes of aggression.
After 2002: Issues and Challenges for the ICC
Following are some of the major issues and challenges for the ICC since 2002.
Jurisdiction and Sovereignty Concerns
One of the major challenges, is the clash of interest between the goals of the court and the sovereignty of nations. The legal recourse of the court is confined to only those offenses committed within the territory of a state party or against a national of a state party, unless a situation is referred to by the UNSC.
Challenges of Enforcement
Due to primacy of the ICC the realization of the work of the court is heavily premised on the compliance of states in apprehension of suspects, execution of warrants, and details of evidence. This has been a big set-back especially when it comes to the arrest of fugitives as seen by Omar al-Bashir the former President of Sudan who has been staying away from the international criminal court.
Funding and Resource Constraints
The ICC is a state-funded organization, and its core finances have fluctuating budgets to face the expenses constantly. These have adversely affected the Court’s capacity to investigate, try cases, and, more importantly, assist the survivors.
Some Notable Cases and Trials
Some of the notable cases include the following:
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo: Lubanga was convicted in the year 2012 for being the first individual that conscripted and enlisted children under fifteen years in Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Jean-Pierre Bemba: The ex DR Congo’s VP, Bemba was convicted in 2016 of crimes against humanity and war crimes by his militia in the CAR. However, this conviction was overruled in an appeal in 2018.
Omar al-Bashir: The former president of Sudan together with his legal regime has been accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the case of Darfur. One of the examples in this regard is that Bashir has not been extradited to the ICC even where there are international warrants of his arrest; this portrays some of the challenges of affecting some of the directives of the ICC.
What Next for the ICC?
During the last decade, the Court has stretched outside Africa looking at cases in Georgia and Afghanistan. The ICC has also been trying to improve its operations and functions, and stamps to do so are processes that have been mapped out and attempts at improving the communication system of the ICC towards affected communities.
The future of the Court depends on how it deals with the problems touching on its jurisdiction, enforcement of its decisions and the influence of politics besides embracing other challenges that characterize the changing posture on international justice. What is next depends on the ICC to consolidate on the achievements while grappling with the bloc’s failures. Enhancing cooperation with other international organizations, binding more states to the ICC and making justice fairer and more impartial all over the world can be considered as the key to the accomplishment of the tasks.
The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court opened a formal investigation into alleged Israeli forces and Hamas’ crimes. This has been quite polarizing in terms of reception, with Israel refusing to recognize ICC’s authority on their territory, citing non-membership despite being associated with Palestine as a territory Palestine has welcomed the investigation as a step towards justice for what they view as war crimes committed during the conflict.
In the series:
05 July 1962: Algeria declares its independence, ending 132 years of French occupation
06 June 1944: Allied forces land in Normandy, turning the tide in World War-II
21 May 1991: LTTE human bomb assassinates Rajiv Gandhi
20 May 1948: Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer lands in Calicut in India’s west coast
20 May 2002: East Timor becomes an independent country
30 April 1975: Saigon falls to North Vietnam troops, leading to the reunification of Vietnam
21 April 1526: The First Battle of Panipat leads to the emergence of the Mughal Empire in India
17 April 1895: The Treaty of Shimonoseki ends the first Sino-Japan War (1894-95)
17 April 1975: Khmer Rouge captures Phnom Penh in Cambodia, establishing the Pol Pot regime
16 April 1917: Lenin issues “April Theses”
04 April 1968: Martin Luther King Jr assassinated
18 March 2014: Russia annexes Crimea
14 March 1879: Albert Einstein born in Germany
14 March 1849: The Sikh Army surrenders to the British
12 March 1918: Lenin shifts the capital to Moscow
11 March 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
About the author
Ronakk Tijoriwala is a student from Pandit Deendayal Energy University, School of Liberal Studies. Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
