ICC and America
Over the past few years, the International Criminal Court (ICC or “the Court”) has been igniting controversy the world over. As more countries rallied behind it, more objections have been made, particularly from Americans, regarding what many view as fundamental flaws. I have chosen two papers to compare and contrast the different viewpoints taken by the authors when reflecting upon America’s involvement with the ICC. One calls for total rejection of the ICC, the other weighs the risks and benefits and calls for revision but acceptance.
Public International law International law contains of rules and principles, which preside over the relations and communication of nations with each other. International Law that is in most other countries referred to as Public International Law concerns itself only with questions of rights among more than a few nations or nations and the citizens or subjects of other nations. In dissimilarity, Private International Law deals with controversies among confidential persons, natural or juridical, arising out of situations having important association to further than one nation. In current years the line up connecting public and private international law have became more and more doubtful. Issues of private international law may also associate issues of public international law and numerous matters of private international law nave considerable meaning for the international group of people of nations. International Law consists of the basic, classic concepts of law in nationwide legal systems, status, property, responsibility, and tort. It also includes substantive law, procedure, process and remedies. International Law is rooted in receipt by the nation states, which comprise the system. Customary law and conventional law are primary sources of international law. Customary international law results when states trail convinced practices usually and time after time out of an intelligence of legal responsibility. Lately the customary law was codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Conventional international law derives from international agreements and may obtain any appearance that the constricting parties have the same opinion upon. Agreements may be complete in admiration to any substance except for to the leve...
With the end of the Cold War, the ground seems ready for an acceleration of this century’s trend in increasing international regulation of more issues once typically seen as part of state domestic jurisdiction. But as international law embraces new actors and a growing range of forms, topics, and technologies, and as it moves further away from strictly "foreign" concerns to traditionally domestic areas, its proponents must increasingly confront new obstacles head-on.
According to Article 38 of the 1946 Statute of the International Court of Justice, the Court shall apply “international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law” in its decisions (Kritsiotis 123). In other words, the International Court of Justice cites customs as a formal source of law. According to Roberto Unger, author of Law in a Modern Society, customary international law is best defined as “any recurring mode of interaction among individuals and groups, together with the more or less explicit acknowledgement of these groups and individuals that such patterns of interaction produce reciprocal expectations of conduct that out to be satisfied (Shaw 72-73). In other words, customary international laws are primarily concerned with how and why sates behave in a particular manner. Customs derive from the behavior of states (state practice) and the subconscious belief that a behavior is inherently legal (opinio juris). Evidence of state behavior is documented in the decisions of domestic courts, international courts, and international organizations. Unlike treaty law, customary laws are binding on all states. Additionally, if a treaty derives from a custom it is also binding on all states. Some of the international court cases that have been instrumental in the development of customary international law include the Nicaragua v. United States case, the Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries case, the Scotia case, the Asylum case, the Paquete Habana case, and the Lotus case.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a relatively new organization; only just a decade old and it has seen a great deal of hardships and success. Since the creation of ICC it has seen a vast deal of criticisms that “[range] from concerns about racism and neocolonialism” and so forth. Not only has it encountered criticisms, but as well, people have questioned the usefulness of this organization? In truth, is it necessary to question the value, based on what little it has accomplished and in addition to, the amount of wealth it needs to stay buoyant? Concerning all of that, the ICC is nothing humanity has seen before; it has been described as “the most ambitious initiative in the history of modern international law.” The ICC was fashioned to handle judicial issues regarding government officials (however, it does not just include government officials but individual soldiers (though, persons under the age of eighteen are protected) and military leaders, and their superiors), unlike the International Court of Justice (ICJ; whose authority falls over states). Nevertheless, to comprehend the ICC, we are first going to look at the history (how it was created and why); secondly, why it is outside of the authority of the United Nations (UN); thirdly the accomplishments and failures. Lastly as a final point, the criticisms surrounding the ICC (reasons for such hatred towards it).
The International Criminal Court (ICC), created in 1998 (Thayer and Ibryamova 2010), is responsible for investigating and prosecuting the most extreme cases, including crimes against humanity, aggressive crimes, war crimes, and genocide. The credibility of this institution, however, has been compromised due to the United States revocation of support and membership. Initially it is important to recognize the arguments against the United States becoming a member state of the ICC and what precipitated the U.S. withdrawing its signature from the document that instituted the Court. Once this has been established, the arguments in favor of ICC membership will be developed by addressing and refuting these objections. Finally, this analysis will lead to proving how the United States becoming a member state will increase the effectiveness and integrity of the International Criminal Court.
It is therefore no longer is it credible for a state to turn its back on international law, alleging a bias towards European values and influence. All that humankind now requires to bring about the elusive, but eternal, dream of perpetual peace is a global citizenship based on a strong commitment to principles of equity and democracy grounded in civil society.
The International Criminal Court’s Roman Statue has many problems but has still managed to gain enough support to act as an international law making body. The International Criminal Court has obtained the support of over a hundred nations, but the unwillingness of the United States to join could jeopardize the effectiveness of the Court. The foundation of the International Criminal Court is set up in the Roman Statue, which was drafted by many countries at a conference in Rome. The Statue states what crimes the Court has jurisdiction over and it explains the structure of the Court. The Statue illustrates that the main goal of the International Criminal Court is to prosecute the most serious international crimes. It is questionable whether the Court is achieving this goal. The Roman Statue restricts the International Criminal Court from prosecuting many crimes because the Court has a strict time frame of when crimes can be tried and limits the amount of countries under its jurisdiction. The United States does not support the content of the Statue and has taken actions to omit themselves from its jurisdiction. These actions could stop the Court from successfully accomplishing their goal. The International Criminal Court is not an effective international organization because of the language of the Roman Statue and its inability to gain essential participation of the most influential nation in the world, the United States, who fears being prosecuted and cannot accept lack of control.
Comparative View”, Pace International Law Review, Online Companion, 1(9): 74-95. Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1011&context=pilronline
Kuo, M.-S. "The Concept of 'Law' in Global Administrative Law: A Reply to Benedict Kingsbury." European Journal of International Law 20, no. 4 (2010) PL 997.