The Relationship between the International Criminal Court and National Jurisdictions: The Principle of Complementarity (The Raoul Wallenberg Institute Human Rights Library)

The principle of complementarity provides a framework as to when the Prosecutor of the ICC may and should interfere vis-a-vis national judicial systems. The principle acknowledges the primary right of states to prosecute while also recognising the need for international interference when states fail in this task. As formulated in the Rome Statute, however, it leaves complex questions unresolved. To mention a few: When is a national criminal proceeding really an attempt to shield the perpetrator? When can a national judicial system be characterised as unavailable? And when will an ICC prosecution serve the interests of justice? This book seeks to answer these and other related questions by interpreting the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute and discussing them in a broad context.This book also critically assesses policy considerations underlying the establishment of the ICC, including the implications of international criminal justice for achieving peace. It asks, inter alia, whether the ICC should set aside an amnesty which a national truth commission has granted in an attempt to achieve a peaceful transition from tyranny to democracy. CONTENTS ......Page 6 ABBREVIATIONS......Page 10 PREFACE......Page 12 1.1. The establishment of a complementary international criminal court......Page 14 1.2. Possible relationships between international and national jurisdiction......Page 17 1.3. Why analyse the complementarity principle?......Page 19 1.4. The available sources of law......Page 20 1.5. The book's further structure......Page 22 2.2. The purposes of the Rome Statute......Page 24 2.3. The purposes of the complementarity principle......Page 28 2.4. Comparing national and international criminal proceedings......Page 33 3.1. Introduction......Page 44 3.2. The political stakes involved and the changing times......Page 45 3.3. Early ILC discussions (1950-88)......Page 48 3.4. The establishment of the ad hoc tribunals (1993-94)......Page 54 3.5. The ILC discussions on an international criminal court (1990-94)......Page 57 3.6. The discussions in the Ad Hoc Committee (1995)......Page 77 3.7. The discussions in the Preparatory Committee (1996-98)......Page 82 3.8. The Rome Conference (1998)......Page 93 4.1. Introduction......Page 100 4.2. The trigger mechanisms......Page 102 4.3. The distinction between a "situation" and a "case"......Page 104 4.4. The decision whether to investigate......Page 107 4.5. The decision whether to prosecute......Page 133 4.6. Article 18: Preliminary rulings regarding admissibility......Page 136 4.7. Article 19: Challenges to the admissibility of a case......Page 163 4.8. Two particular procedural issues......Page 191 5.1. The main rule: national proceedings prevail......Page 198 5.2. The "sufficient gravity" criterion......Page 199 5.3. The term "complementary"......Page 200 5.4. The term "a State which has jurisdiction"......Page 203 5.5. The terms "the case", "the person concerned" and "the same conduct"......Page 210 5.6. National inaction: automatic admissibility......Page 212 5.7. Relevant national proceedings......Page 215 5.8. General vs. specific information......Page 225 6.1. Introduction......Page 228 6.2. Process and not outcome......Page 229 6.3. Cultural differences and national margin......Page 230 6.4. A general standard......Page 231 6.5. Human rights standards......Page 232 6.6. The ICC's own proceedings as a standard......Page 242 7.2. The admissibility criteria and internationalised courts......Page 244 7.3. The admissibility criteria and Security Council referrals......Page 249 7.4. The admissibility criteria and self-referrals......Page 259 8.1. The term "unwillingness"......Page 264 8.2. The attribution of the unwillingness to the state......Page 266 8.3. The factors in article 17(2)......Page 269 8.4. Legitimate reasons not to investigate, prosecute or convict......Page 322 9.2. The factors in article 17(3)......Page 326 9.3. General or specific causes of a state's "inability"......Page 341 10.2. Completed trials and inability......Page 344 10.3. The accused has abused the national process......Page 345 10.4. New significant evidence after a completed proceeding......Page 346 10.5. The convicted person is subsequently pardoned or paroled......Page 347 10.6. The state has characterised an ICC crime as an ordinary crime......Page 348 10.7. The case has implications for other cases before the ICC......Page 350 11.1. Introduction......Page 352 11.2. Some general aspects......Page 353 11.3. Prosecutorial discretion before other international and national jurisdictions......Page 359 11.4. The "interests of justice" criterion in article 53 – general analysis......Page 366 11.5. Factors listed in article 53......Page 372 11.6. Factors not listed in article 53......Page 385 11.7. Judicial control......Page 416 11.8. The need for a prosecutorial policy, transparency and guidelines......Page 423 12.1. Introduction......Page 430 12.2. The transitional government's dilemma......Page 433 12.3. National amnesties and other states......Page 436 12.4. National amnesties and the Rome Statute......Page 437 12.5. Suggested factors for the "evaluation" of national amnesties......Page 464 12.6. Conclusive remarks......Page 476 13.2. Safeguarding state sovereignty......Page 482 13.3. Promoting national criminal proceedings......Page 486 13.4. Ensuring effective ICC interference......Page 491 13.5. Ensuring an appropriate selection of situations and cases......Page 496 13.6. Would a primary ICC have been preferable?......Page 499 INDEX......Page 502 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 512 SELECTED DOCUMENTS......Page 528 TABLE OF CASES......Page 538 The principle of complementarity provides a framework as to when the Prosecutor of the ICC may and should interfere vis-à-vis national judicial systems. The principle acknowledges the primary right of states to prosecute while also recognising the need for international interference when states fail in this task. As formulated in the Rome Statute, however, it leaves complex questions unresolved. To mention a few: When is a national criminal proceeding really an attempt to shield the perpetrator? When can a national judicial system be characterised as unavailable? And when will an ICC prosecution serve the interests of justice? This book seeks to answer these and other related questions by interpreting the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute and discussing them in a broad context. The book also critically assesses policy considerations underlying the establishment of the ICC, including the implications of international criminal justice for achieving peace. It asks, inter alia, whether the ICC should set aside an amnesty which a national truth commission has granted in an attempt to achieve a peaceful transition from tyranny to democracy. The principle of complementarity provides a framework as to when the Prosecutor of the ICC may and should interfere vis-a-vis national judicial systems. The principle acknowledges the primary right of states to prosecute while also recognising the need for international interference when states fail in this task. As formulated in the Rome Statute, however, it leaves complex questions unresolved. To mention a few: When is a national criminal proceeding really an attempt to shield the perpetrator? When can a national judicial system be characterised as unavailable? And when will an ICC prosecution serve the interests of justice? This book seeks to answer these and other related questions by interpreting the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute and discussing them in a broad context. The book also critically assesses policy considerations underlying the establishment of the ICC, including the implications of international criminal justice for achieving peace. It asks, inter alia, whether the ICC should set aside an amnesty which a national truth commission has granted in an attempt to achieve a peaceful transition from tyranny to democracy. This book seeks to answer these and other related questions by interpreting the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute and discussing them in a broad context. The book also critically assesses policy considerations underlying the establishment of the ICC, including the implications of international criminal justice for achieving peace. It asks, inter alia, whether the ICC should set aside an amnesty which a national truth commission has granted in an attempt to achieve a peaceful transition from tyranny to democracy."--Jacket.