The International Criminal Court In An Effective Global Justice System

International tribunals need to interface effectively with national jurisdictions, which includes coordination with domestic judicial prosecutions as well as an appreciation for other non-judicial types of transitional justice. In this book, the authors analyze the earlier international tribunals established since the 1990s and the parallel national proceedings for each. In examining the ways in which the ICC can best coordinate with national processes this book considers the ICC’s present interactions with national jurisdictions and the statutory framework of the Rome Statute for interface with national jurisdictions.

This book is about the International Criminal Court (ICC), a new and highly distinctive criminal justice institution with the ability to prosecute the highest-level government officials, including heads of state, even in countries that have not accepted its jurisdiction. The book explores the historical development of international criminal law and the formal legal structure created by the Rome Statute, against the background of the Court’s search for objectivity in a political global environment. The book reviews the operations of the Court in practice and the Court’s position in the power politics of the international system. It discusses and clarifies all stages of an international criminal proceeding from the opening of the investigation to sentencing, reparations, and final appeals in the context of its restorative justice mission. Making appropriate comparisons and contrasts between the international criminal justice system and domestic and national systems, the book fills a gap in international criminal justice study.

"This volume is an offshoot of the research activities of working group II ('international criminal tribunals') of the European Science Foundation's COST A28 Action on Human Rights, Peace and Security in EU Foreign Policy"--Page v.

This collection discusses appropriate methodologies for comparative research and applies this to the issue of trial transformation in the context of achieving justice in post-conflict societies. In developing arguments in relation to these problems, the authors use international sentencing and the question of victims' interests and expectations as a focus. The conclusions reached are wide-ranging and haighly significant in challenging existing conceptions for appreciating and giving effect to the justice demands of victims of war and social conflict. The themes developed demonstrate clearly how comparative contextual analysis facilitates our understanding of the legal and social contexts of international punishment and how this understanding can provide the basis for expanding the role of restorative international criminal justice within the context of international criminal trials.

This book provides an analysis of whether the International Criminal Court can be regarded as an International Criminal World Court, capable of exercising its jurisdiction upon every individual despite the fact that not every State is a Party to the Rome Statute. The analysis is based on a twin-pillar system, which consists of a judicial and an enforcement pillar. The judicial pillar is based on the most disputed articles of the Rome Statute; its goal is to determine the potential scope of the Court’s strength through the application of its jurisdiction regime. The enforcement pillar provides an analysis of the cooperation and judicial assistance mechanism pursuant to the Rome Statute’s provisions and its practical implementation through States’ practices. The results of the analysis, and the lack of an effective enforcement mechanism, demonstrate that the ICC cannot in fact be considered a criminal world court. In conclusion, possible solutions are presented in order to improve the enforcement pillar of the Court so that the tremendous strength of the ICC’s judicial pillar, and with it, the exercise of worldwide jurisdiction, can be effectively implemented.

Annotation The Nuremberg Trials at the end of World War II established the principle that individual leaders could be held responsible for "crimes against humanity." Although various ad hoc tribunals were held in the last half of the 20th century, it was not until 2002 that a permanent international court was established, under the auspices, of the United Nations. The international Criminal Court has been controversial with many key nations most notably, the United States refusing to ratify the treaty establishing the court. Some critics object to the adoption of a judicial system that seems to supersede national judicial systems; others fear that the court will be used to pursue narrow political ends. This book will comprise three sections: the first will examine the history of the creation of the court; the second will contain articles that outline objections to the court; the third will contain articles defending and promoting the court. The authors include primary sources on both sides of the controversy, with special attention to America's involvement. A glossary of key terms, and the text of the Rome Statute establishing the court will also be included.

This book deals with the prosecution of core crimes and constitutes the first comprehensive analysis of the horizontal and vertical systems of enforcement of international criminal law and of their inter-relationship. It provides a global jurisprudential exposition in assessing the grounds for refusal of surrender to the International Criminal Court and of extradition to another State. It also offers insights into legal perspectives which improve the prevailing enforcement regimes of various models of criminal justice, including hybrid criminal tribunals, special criminal courts, judicial panels and partnerships, and other budding sui generis judicial and/or prosecutorial institutions. The book espouses a human rights law-oriented critique to the enforcement of domestic, regional and international criminal justice and is aimed at legal practitioners (prosecutors, defence lawyers, magistrates and judges), jurists, criminal justice experts, penologists, legal researchers, human rights activists and law students. Christopher Soler lectures Maltese criminal law, international criminal law and public international law at the University of Malta. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands.

The evolving concept of universal jurisdiction, the modern doctrine of humanitarian intervention, and the challenges faced by legal theory in addressing issues of international terrorism are subjects of this profound study. The author ́s main intention is to reflect upon the legal and philosophical foundations of international criminal law in the context of politics. He analyzes the prospects of the International Criminal Court and compares this institution to other forms of universal jurisdiction such as the Security Council ́s ad hoc tribunals. He also points out the problem of double standards in the current practice of "humanitarian politics”. Hans Koechler was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as international observer at the Lockerbie trial in the Netherlands. His experience gained at the "trial of the century” motivated him to reflect on the feasibility of international criminal justice and humanitarian intervention in the framework of the present unipolar world order.