Blog Post #3 - LoBue, Gaby
Blog Post #3 - POLS170 LoBue, Gaby
How the International Criminal Court Can Expand Their Jurisdiction
President Biden was leaving a press conference last Wednesday when he responded to a question claiming that President Vladimir Putin is a “war criminal” (ABC News, Youtube). This claim falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and, in my opinion, inevitably will not be able to prosecute him due to their lack of power over Russia or countries in general. The ICC since its development has not been able to use their platform to condemn crimes committed by world leaders effectively. The International Criminal Court must reestablish itself by improving their relationship with each country’s legal system, which will in turn revert its authority back on them. Countries involved in intercountry relations must recognize the ICC and individually enforce international law when necessary.
The logistical procedures of the International Criminal Court as it stands has not ever been able to gain authority over countries and their leaders. Many countries (including the United States, Russia, and Ukraine) are not members of the court, meaning that they don’t follow the laws under the Rome Statute (CNN, ICC). This makes the ICC unable to prosecute leaders like President Putin unless they obtain enough evidence against him and are able to arrest him outside his country. Since both of these necessary events are unlikely to happen, it's important for the International Criminal Court to redesign their operations to clearly enforce international law. As mentioned in a NYT article by Elena Baylis, one way the ICC can revive their power is by empowering “national and regional justice systems by providing political support and, where needed, technical assistance,” meaning they can guide the already established judicial systems in each country to implement international regulations (NYT class reading). This will only be possible if individual countries are willing to participate and abide by the laws the ICC has in place. This is a sizable task that will require statutes in the ICC to be revised, because of conflicting opinions and laws in each country. This will help improve their relationship with each country, since they would all be working together to meet the needs of everyone involved. If the International Criminal Court is able to summon support as well as amend laws established by them to be more inclusive to contrasting attitudes, it may be able to expand their jurisdiction across the world.
Hypothetically speaking, if these changes were made before the war between Russia and Ukraine was started, would the ICC be able to accuse President Putin of war crimes? It seems that the ICC, in the position it stands in, will not be able to condemn Putin for the crimes he has committed while he is protected in his own country, even if the changes were made that are mentioned above. If President Putin was removed from power by members of his country or if there was a citizen coup against the Russian government, then his indictment would be more likely. Even if the ICC is able to gain more authority over global issues, it seems like it will never be able to gain absolute power over powerful world leaders. Nevertheless, I think that with the changes I have mentioned above, the ICC would be able to have more of a voice in global affairs, which could hopefully lead to increased global order.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntiTVbF_vXs
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/21/ukraine-russia-icc-investigation/
https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/03/politics/putin-war-crimes-russia-ukraine-us-what-matters/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/12/11/do-we-need-the-international-criminal-court/empower-national-and-regional-courts
I really enjoyed reading this blog post, specifically because of how relevant the topic is to our current world situation. Your wide array of sources helps to convince the reader that there are distinct accountability problems within the current international court system. I also like your final paragraph, as you pose a question and attempt to provide some insight into your personal thoughts on the topic. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog was super interesting. I would agree that the ICC is far more symbolic than anything since they struggle to actually enforce their decisions. I think it would be a great thing for the world if all the major players entered into some sort of system where they were beholden to the ICC. of course, it's highly unlikely any country would relinquish the power to have their leader removed from office. So, I would ask how the ICC's power can be expanded...reasonably.
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