week 8: the international criminal court (icc)

International Criminal Court (ICC)

An international institution created in 1998 to prosecute individuals suspected of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and aggression.

War Crimes

Actions during war involving rape, looting, torture, denial of medical care, deliberate targeting of civilians, among other violations.

Crimes Against Humanity

Widespread or systematic war crimes.

Genocide

Actions with the intent to destroy, in whole or part, a racial, ethnic, religious, or national group.

Aggression

The use of military force not constituting self-defense or authorized by the UN.

State Compliance

The ICC employs coercive tactics to promote compliance with international law, unlike the UN's strategy of naming and shaming.

Historical Origins

The ICC's roots can be traced back to ancient Hindu thinkers' ethical considerations on waging war, influencing modern international laws and norms.

19th century origin: Gustave Moynier

Co-founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1872, proposed the idea of creating the ICC due to

1. a lack of faith in public opinion

2. states' willingness to prevent wartime violence.

3 conditions to prosecute a subset of political leaders

1. the leader has to be suspected of committing one of the crimes

2. if they are from or in a country that has signed the Rome statute or if they’re referred to the ICC by the UN council

3. if they are from a country where the domestic legal system is incapable of or unwilling to prosecute individuals suspected of crime above.

unethical behaviours deemed violation of laws of war (according to hindu thinkers)

1. Crime to wage war for the purpose of spreading religion or defeating religioin.

2. Crime to wage war for offensive reasons (acquiring territory/resources)

3. Crime to wage war before all other things of resolution were offered. 

4. Crime to wage war without notifying ur oppenent first, including the specific time and location. 

5. Crime to wage war with concealded weapons, poiseoned arrows, or darts blazing with fire. Fun. 

6. Crime to attack those who are defenseless, fatigues, armed only w a broken weapon, naked, terrified, not facing forwards, or hair covering their eyes.

7. Crime to wage war in a garden, in a temple, or at night. 

20th century origins; main developments.

1. the continued evolution fo the international laws of war with the hague conventions

2. post ww1 failed attempts to try german and ottoman-turkish leadesr for war crimes thru the treaty of versailles and treaty of sevres.

3. the nuremburg trials prosecutes many german leaders

4. the UN’s establishment of the internatinoal commission of law to develop a proposal fo an international criminal court

5. the special tribunals to prosecute war criminals in the former yugoslavia and rwanda.

6. pressure thru the 90s from a large coalition of human rights ngos, including human rights watch, on states to negatiate and create an international criminal court.

two factors of icc emergence in 1998

1. historical precedent

2. large ngo campaign pressuring states to create an international criminal court.

icc being racist

there’s an exclusive focus on african states.