Politicizing The International Criminal Court

The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in July 1998 has attracted growing interest in the evolving role of politics in international law. Steven C. Roach's innovative and systematic work on the political and ethical dimensions of the ICC is the first comprehensive attempt to situate the politics of the ICC both theoretically and practically. Linking the ICC's internal politicization with its formative development, Roach provides a unique understanding of this institution's capacity to play a constructive role in global politics. He argues that an internal form of politicization will allow the ICC to counter outside efforts to politicize it, whether this involves the political agenda of a state hegemon or the geopolitical interests of U. N. Security Council permanent members. Steering a new path between conventional approaches that stress the formal link between legitimacy and legal neutrality, and unconventional approaches that treat legitimacy and politics as inextricable elements of a repressive international legal order, Roach formulates the concept of political legalism, which calls for a self-directed and engaged application of the legal rules and principles of the ICC Statute. Politicizing the International Criminal Court is a must-read for scholars, students, and policymakers interested in the dynamics of this important international institution.

Since entering into force in July 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has emerged as one of the most intriguing models of global governance. This innovative edited volume investigates the challenges facing the ICC, including the dynamics of politicized justice, US opposition, an evolving and flexible institutional design, the juridification of political evil, negative and positive global responsibility, the apparent conflict between peace and justice, and the cosmopolitanization of law. It argues that realpolitik has tested the ICC's capacity in a mostly positive manner and that the ambivalence between realpolitik and justice constitutes a novel predicament for extending global governance. The arguments of each essay are framed by a timely and original approach designed to assess the nuanced relationship between realpolitik and global justice. The approach - which interweaves four International Relations approaches, rationalism, constructivism, communicative action theory, and moral cosmopolitanism - is guided by the metaphor of the switch levers of train tracks, in which the Prosecutor and Judges serve as the pivotal agents switching the (crisscrossing) tracks of realpolitik and cosmopolitanism. With this visual aid, this volume of essays shows just how the ICC has become one of the most fascinating points of intersection between law, politics, and ethics.

On 25 May 1993 the United Nations Security Council took the extraordinary and unprecedented step of deciding to establish the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as a mechanism for the restoration and maintenance of international peace and security. This was an extremely significant innovation in the use of mandatory enforcement powers by the Security Council, and the manifestation of an explicit link between peace and justice - politics and law. The establishment of ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda was followed by the adoption of the Rome Statute of the ICC in July 1998, the arrest of General Augusto Pinochet in London in October 1998, and the establishment of ad hoc tribunals in Cambodia, Sierra Leone, and East Timor, all of which pointed to an emerging norm of international criminal justice. The key to understanding this is the relationship between the political mandate and the judicial function. The Tribunal was established as a tool of politics, but it was a judicial, not a political tool. This book provides a systematic examination of the Tribunal, what it is, why it was established, how it functions, and where its significance lies. The central question is whether an international judicial institution, such as the Tribunal, can operate in a highly politicized context and fulfill an explicit political purpose, without the judicial process becoming politicized. Separate chapters chart the origins of the court, the process of establishment, jurisdiction, procedure, state co-operation, including obtaining custody of accused, and the role and function of the Chief Prosecutor. This last element is the key to the Tribunal's success in maintaining a delicate balancing act so that its external political function does not impinge on its impartial judicial status, and instead enhances its effectiveness. The book concludes with an assessment of the conduct of the Milosevic case to date.

This book theorizes how weaker states in the international system use the ICC to advance their security and political interests.

Summary: "Written by seasoned scholars and practitioners, this collection of essays provides a most comprehensive analysis of the institutional dynamics and political underpinnings of international criminal justice. They explore and provide critical comment on the main institutional difficulties experienced by International Tribunals."--Publisher description.

This innovative and systematic work on the political and ethical dimensions of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first comprehensive attempt to situate the politics of the ICC both theoretically and practically. Steering a new path between conventional approaches that stress the formal link between legitimacy and legal neutrality, and unconventional approaches that treat legitimacy and politics as inextricable elements of a repressive international legal order, Steven C. Roach formulates the concept of political legalism, which calls for a self-directed and engaged application of the legal rules and principles of the ICC Statute. Politicizing the International Criminal Court is a must-read for scholars, students, and policymakers interested in the dynamics of this important international institution.

Ten years ago, in the wake of massive crimes in central Africa and the Balkans, the first permanent international criminal court was established in The Hague despite resistance from some of the world's most powerful states. In the past decade, the court has grown from a few staff in an empty building to a bustling institution with more than a thousand lawyers, investigators, and administrators from around the world. Despite its growth and the backing of more than 120 nations, the ICC is still struggling to assert itself in often turbulent political crises. The ICC is generally autonomous in its ability to select cases and investigate crimes, but it is ultimately dependent on sovereign states, and particularly on the world's leading powers. These states can provide the diplomatic, economic, and military clout the court often needs to get cooperation-and to arrest suspects. But states don't expend precious political capital lightly, and the court has often struggled to get the help it needs. When their interests are most affected, moreover, powerful states usually want the court to keep its distance. Directly and indirectly, they make their preferences known in The Hague. Rough Justice grapples with the court's basic dilemma: designed to be apolitical, it requires the support of politicians who pursue national interests and answer to domestic audiences. Through a sharp analysis of the dynamics at work behind the scenes, Bosco assesses the ways in which powerful states have shaped the court's effort to transform the vision of international justice into reality. This will be the definitive account of the Court and its uneven progress toward advancing accountability around the world.