Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T14:33:40.523Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

6 - ICC Structures, Dynamics, Tensions

from The Bridge to the Hague

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2022

Richard Gaskins
Affiliation:
Brandeis University, Massachusetts
Get access

Summary

Responding to the humanitarian call, the ICC found its mission in conducting trials, and needed to build an implementation structure to support its outreach functions. While victims seeking justice may bring their claims to The Hague, it is up to the Court to build an apparatus for managing investigations, negotiating with member states, protecting witnesses in the field – all of it contributing to the resolution of serious conflicts. The neutrality of legal procedure protects the courtroom from political influence, but politics are inescapable as the Court deals with its practical environment. TheICC’s structural challenges include managing constraints on its jurisdiction, which favor deferring trials to national systems. As a legal body, the ICC must also conform with fixed definitions of crimes and modes of responsibility, even when the circumstances (such as African conflicts) may stretch those definitions to the limits. The dynamic enforcement of ICC rules is left to the interactive system of judges, arrayed on three different levels with distinct functions, checking and balancing the decisions of each other in a manner consistent with broad principles of legality.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×