Book contents
- Multi-Actor Human Rights Protection at the International Criminal Court
- Multi-Actor Human Rights Protection at the International Criminal Court
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 The Human Rights Obligations of the ICC
- Part I Multi-Actor Human Rights Protection
- Part II Multi-Actor Human Rights Protection
- Part III Evaluation and Proposals
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - The Human Rights Obligations of the ICC
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2020
- Multi-Actor Human Rights Protection at the International Criminal Court
- Multi-Actor Human Rights Protection at the International Criminal Court
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 The Human Rights Obligations of the ICC
- Part I Multi-Actor Human Rights Protection
- Part II Multi-Actor Human Rights Protection
- Part III Evaluation and Proposals
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The ICC is subject to obligations to protect the human rights of witnesses and accused involved in ICC proceedings. This chapter sets out the sources of these obligations, which stem from sources internal to the Court’s legal framework and from general international law (i.e. external sources). With regards to internal sources, Article 21 of the Rome Statute opens up many potential avenues for the ICC to apply human rights norms, and the normative hierarchy created by Article 21(3) ensures that human rights underpin all aspects of the Court’s work. With regards to external sources, general international law contains customary human rights norms that bind the ICC as an international organisation, and so offers a further avenue for human rights to apply to the Court. Despite the various ways in which the ICC can be said to have obligations to protect human rights, the nature and scope of these obligations are shaped by the limitations of the ICC’s institutional capacity. The ICC lacks the characteristics and capacities of States, and so its obligations will in turn be limited, leaving open the possibility that structural gaps in protection will arise for witnesses and accused appearing before the Court.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020