State Sovereignty as an Obstacle to International Criminal Law

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511642265.003

2 - State Sovereignty as an Obstacle to International Criminal Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 January 2010

Kristen Hessler

Edited by

Larry May and

Zachary Hoskins

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Larry May: Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
Zachary Hoskins: Affiliation:
Washington University, St Louis

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Summary

Much argument about the sovereignty of states is made hopelessly simplistic by its generality. Should we recognize state sovereignty or not? Do states have too much sovereignty or just about the right amount? And so forth. In order to get a firm grasp, we must examine specific matters over which states could be permitted or denied sovereignty of specific kinds one at a time. Sovereignty is not some mystical cloud that either envelops the state entirely or dissipates completely; there are bits and pieces of asserted sovereignty. These assertions can be granted or contested one by one and accepted in this era and rejected in the next, or vice versa. Sovereignty should, I would think, be treated more like a (crazy) quilt that can be left to cover some things but pulled off of others.

INTRODUCTION

By now, many theorists have endorsed the notion that state sovereignty does not constitute an impenetrable barrier to international criminal proceedings, which may be justifiable if the situation within a state becomes sufficiently dismal. Focusing on the arguments of Larry May and his critics, Andrew Altman and Christopher Wellman, I argue that their reasons for concluding that state sovereignty may be overridden in cases in which states fail to protect their citizens' human rights also count against the broad presumption in favor of nonintervention for states that these theorists endorse.

Type: Chapter
Information: International Criminal Law and Philosophy , pp. 39 - 57

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511642265.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2009

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