politically self-serving African criticisms of the ICC by powerful elites motivated by collective protectionism, some of whom are the very leaders responsible for the crimes in the first place. And the majority underway are not in Africa. It keeps the ICC at the heart of contemporary challenges, such as ISIS or migration dilemmas, and may enhance its expressivist function on a global scale. Kenyatta accuses the tribunal of racism. He has published articles on international criminal law and transitional justice in leading international journals and edited several collections of essays in the field. … It has gained increasing acceptance that has strengthened its guardianship of criminal justice. This principle of national prosecution applies regardless of the outcome of national proceedings. The African Union (AU), moreover, has been criticising the ICC for years, and its arguments deserve attention. Featured image: Windows: International Criminal Court, The Hague. It is also closely tied to the United Nations Security Council: Russia, China and the United States, three of the Permanent Five veto-wielding members of the UN SC have still refused to join the ICC and yet they can decide if the court can investigate atrocities committed by non-court signatories. It has become doubtful whether the Court should too easily proclaim that its goal is to strengthen domestic jurisdiction or that the absence of cases is a success. First is the issue of credibility. Even before its existence, the Court has been for criticized for its selectivity, statutory limitations, and potential overreach. The ICC’s success is not determined by how many people it indicts, how much it costs, or the outcome of high-profile cases. There have been relatively few ‘signature’ decisions in the ICC context: decisions on the ‘policy’ element of crimes against humanity; the interpretation of modes of liability or reparations; and contested ones, such as on head of state immunity or the power to compel witnesses to testify. The ICC isn’t the solution to all accountability problems, nor is international criminal justice in itself suited to ‘solve’ or fix deeper societal divides. ICC practice is characterized by overreach and under-reach. Some will no doubt point to ongoing ICC investigations into the actions of UK personnel in Iraq, to impugn the UK’s motives in making these points. When the International Criminal Court (ICC) was created in 1998, one of its aims was to end the culture of impunity that political leaders enjoyed in relation to international crimes. The “African bias” of the ICC is therefore in many cases a symptom of African enthusiasm for the ICC. This is unsatisfactory on the long term, and will need to be looked in the future. A popular criticism of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is that, by focusing solely to date on African conflicts, it represents a neo-colonialist intervention in the affairs of African states. While political expediency remains l’ordre du jour, we have seen forward strides in international justice. Yet these criticisms miss a very important point. Claims by the IPCC in WGIII chapter 11 that climate policy would stimulate growth and create jobs are biased and not based on peer-reviewed literature. While these procedures are taking place, which may take years, the accused will be under some restraint and certainly under grave public shadow. Another criticism of the ICC refers to the fact that the ICC is predominately engaged with situations in African countries. As Iain Macleod and Shehzad Charania rightly point out in their post, the ICC faces serious challenges in relation to credibility, legitimacy, and expectations. And states that have not joined are protected by veto-wielding powers at the UN Security Council. Third, what is presented as a tension might not always be a ‘negative’ tension. How does the International Criminal Court answer criticisms that it is illegitimate? Some critics also see the ICC as biased against Africans, while others say the “ICC sadly reinforces Western perspectives and standpoints as universal maxims valid for all people and all nations, and re-enacts racialised metaphors of savages, victims and saviours in the name of truth and justice.” Second, it is becoming clear that whatever international justice institutions do, the ICC is likely to disappoint one constituency or another. Two reasons come to light: many of these states have not joined the ICC and therefore do not recognise the court’s jurisdiction (34 of 54 African UN member states are parties to the court. It might be counterproductive to present it as a source of salvation. But the ICC retains the ultimate authority on whether that function has been adequately exercised and, if it finds it has not, the ICC can reassert jurisdiction. Treating the Court like a tool that can be turned on and off like an electronic device to fix accountability dilemmas is likely to result in artificial quick-wins, or long-term failure. Oxford University Press'sAcademic Insights for the Thinking World. Again in Chapter 11, the IPCC highlights work that supports the view that costs of emission reduction are low, while ignoring or misquoting studies that find such costs are high. In April it will be 16 years since the Court’s first prosecutor was sworn in. Only in two of the African cases now open - Kenya and Burundi - has the ICC actually exercised its right to start investigations. Similar considerations apply in relation to the role of victims. So rather than a weapon of the weak against the powerful, the court has mostly been used as a weapon of the weak (fragile states) against the weaker (non-state actors). Many criticisms of International Criminal Court have validity Opinion: Avoidance of difficult cases creates risk of perceived double standards It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. In environments such as Ukraine, Palestine or Syria, there is a risk that the ICC turns into an instrument of lawfare. Criticisms. The court is currently investigating 11 situations: 10 of which are in Africa. Over the impact of the global Court in Africa, arguments about neo-colonialism exaggerate the strength the. 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