The Impact Of The International Criminal Court On State Sovereignty Essay Example

international law (a once very rigid principle) that rejects foreign interference in States domestic affairs. However, the International Criminal Court works with “insufficient checks and balances” and has weak protection measures “against politicized prosecutions” . Many nations such as India have raised concern regarding the role of United Nation’s Security Council in the International Criminal Court (Bharadwaj, 2003). According to Bharadwaj (2003) granting to the United Nations Security Council the rights to initiate trigger mechanism reinforces the fact that the concept of sovereignty has various gradations dependent on the states’ power and position. Powerful nations will be favoured, and the less powerful nations become vulnerable.
Also, The issue of infringement of national sovereignty has been raised in regards to the power vested in the prosecutor. Many nations including the United States and India object to handing over matters about a state to an individual prosecutor to carry out investigation and initiate a case in the court. United States concern is that the International Criminal Court infringes on its sovereign rights to carry out its humanitarian and international peacekeeping mission globally (Bharadwaj, 2003; Wind, 2009).
In Africa, nations like Kenya, and Sudan have their current presidents battling with court cases in the International Criminal courts. the prosecutor has to go to the respective nations and carry out investigation on crimes committed by the current sitting presidents. However, these cases may not necessarily represent the issue of nations sovereignty being tested but rather the exposure of crimes committed by individuals currently in power. Invoking the issue of sovereignty is just one-way theses individuals and their allies use it to their advantage and the victims will not find justice (The

Africa Law Times, 2014).

Comparison between United Nation Security Council and the International Criminal Court

United Nations Security Council has been there for quite sometimes as compared to the recently established International Criminal Court. United Nations security Council played a crucial role in the establishment of several ad hoc tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Interactional Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY). The United Nations Security Council has the power to refer crimes committed in a nation regardless of whether that nation is a member of the International Criminal Court or not as outlined in Chapter VIII of United Nations Charter (Intelmann, 2013).
The Council has referred two cases. Two nonparty state referrals included Libya in 2011 and Sudan in 2005. It has more powers than the International Criminal Court which can only act based on triggers from the Council or the nonparty state. However, both of them are not immune to politicized cases and outside interference. United Nations Security Council referred Libya in 2011 to the International Criminals Court based on consensus from several states not part of the Rome Statute System such the United States, China, and Russia (Intelmann, 2013).
In general, the aspects discussed above regarding the impact of formal intergovernmental organizations on the state sovereignty represent the development of states sovereignty and not departure from it. The extent in which international Criminals court create obligations for both state and nonparty states does so in a manner “that is consistent with the gradual evolution of national sovereignty over centuries” (Streutt, 2005, p. 1). Therefore it does not undermine the state sovereignty but rather modifies sovereignty norms in a manner “that promises

to permit the continued utility of the concept of international law” (Streutt, 2005, p. 1) in this modern days.

References

• Bharadwaj, A. (2003). International Criminal and the Question f sovereignty. Strategic Analysis, 27 (1), 1-21.
• Figo, V. d., & Cunha, R. D. (2014). The State Under the New Wars Reality: Perspectives and Repercussions. Dissertation, 32-50.
• Intelmann, T. (2013, July 28). The International Criminal Court and the United Nations Security Council: Perceptions and Politics. Huffington Post.
• Prentice-Cuntz, A., & Flannery, K. (2014, August 22). On the Crime of Aggression and the ICC in a Quasi-Westphalian System. Retrieved December 09, 2015, from International Justice Project: www.internationaljusticeproject.com/on-the-crime-of-agression-and-the-icc-in-a-quasi-wesphalian-system/
• Sigmarsson, D. A. (2008). Globalization Vs. State Sovereignty: Constitutional Rights in a Crisis? The university of Akureyri, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences.
• Streutt, M. J. (2005). The Transformation of State Sovereignty rights Rights and Responsibilities Under the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court. Chapman Law Review, 19.
• The Africa Law Times. (2014, November 21). The Fallacy of Sovereignty Before the ICC: The Kenyan Experience. Retrieved December 09, 2015, from The Africa Law Times: www.africalawtimes.com/the-fallacy-of-severeignty-before-the-icc-the-kenya-experience
• Volgy, T. j., Sabic, Z., Roter, P., Gerlak, A. k., Fenko, A. B., Fausett, E., et al. (2009). Mapping the New World Order. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
• Wind, M. (2009). Challenging sovereignty? The USA and the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Ethics and Global Ethics, 2 (2), 83-108.