International Criminal Court Lecture Review

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes covering the International Criminal Court (ICC), its history, jurisdiction, challenges, and notable cases.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

An international body of justice headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, set up to prosecute individuals accused of crimes of international concern.

The Hague, Netherlands

The city where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is headquartered.

Crimes of international concern

The statutory jurisdiction of the ICC, including genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression.

Court of last resort

A term sometimes used to describe the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Nuremberg trials

International military tribunals held after World War II to prosecute Nazi war criminals, serving as a model for a permanent international criminal court.

Rome Statute

The treaty adopted in 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, which finalized plans to create the International Criminal Court (ICC).

ICC official establishment date

July 1, 2002, when the ICC became an official body after sixty nations ratified the Rome Statute.

United States and the Rome Statute

Initially signed under President Bill Clinton, but the signature was retracted by President George W. Bush in 2002, and the treaty was not ratified.

Omar al-Bashir

Former Sudanese president who had an ICC arrest warrant against him since 2009 for war crimes, highlighting the court's challenges in obtaining arrests.

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo

A rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the first person to be detained, tried, and convicted by the ICC.

Laurent Gbagbo

The first former head of state (President of Côte d'Ivoire) arrested on an ICC warrant for crimes against humanity, though he was later acquitted.

Simone Gbagbo

The first woman charged by the ICC, who was the wife of Côte d'Ivoire president Laurent Gbagbo.

Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi

An Islamist militant who faced the ICC's first trial where cultural destruction (of mausoleums in Mali) was treated as a war crime.

Dominic Ongwen

Convicted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the first conviction for forced pregnancy as a standalone charge.

Perceived anti-Africa bias (ICC)

A common criticism that alleges racism and colonialism lead to a disproportionate focus on African incidents, as all ICC trials have initially originated in African countries.

ICC jurisdiction over non-signatories

The ICC cannot pursue crimes that take place in countries that do not recognize its jurisdiction, such as China, regarding the Uyghur Muslims.

Palestine's 2015 referral to the ICC

Led the ICC to determine its territorial jurisdiction extends to Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, despite Israel's objections to Palestinian statehood.

Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine (ICC)

Prompted more than forty states parties to refer the situation to the ICC for investigation into alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, even though neither Russia nor Ukraine are parties to the Rome Statute.

Sanctions against ICC officials (US)

The unprecedented act by the United States in March 2020 of issuing sanctions and visa restrictions against ICC officials investigating alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

States withdrawing from the ICC

While possible, the ICC maintains jurisdiction over crimes committed prior to a country's official withdrawal and prevents withdrawal within a year of announcing intentions.

Enforcement challenges (ICC)

The court's reliance on cooperating nations to turn over suspects because it does not have its own police force.

Slow justice (ICC criticism)

A criticism that the slow pace and small quantity of prosecutions render the court ineffective as a deterrent and frustrating for victims awaiting justice and reparations.

Forced pregnancy

A standalone charge for which the ICC secured its first conviction in the case of Dominic Ongwen.

Cultural destruction as a war crime

A charge first treated by the ICC as a war crime in 2016, involving Islamist militant Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi.

Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)

The organization in which Dominic Ongwen assumed a leadership position after being kidnapped and groomed as a child soldier, which the ICC considered as a mitigating factor in his sentencing.