The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court

Edited by Carsten Stahn

Chapters 2, 4, 10, 47 and 49 are open access, available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence.
Provides a comprehensive overview of the case law and practice of the International Criminal Court in its first ten years
Assesses in detail the Court's work thus far and the impact it has had on the fight against impunity
Investigates the Court's relationship to other international institutions as well as to domestic courts, the context in which it operates, and the role of the Prosecutor
Written by over forty leading contributors, including both practitioners with experience of working at the court and eminent scholars

The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court

Edited by Carsten Stahn

Description

Some parts of this publication are open access, available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. Chapters 2, 4, 10, 47 and 49 are offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.
The International Criminal Court is a controversial and important body within international law; one that is significantly growing in importance, particularly as other international criminal tribunals close down. After a decade of Court practice, this book takes stock of the activities of the International Criminal Court, identifying the key issues in need of re-thinking or potential reform. It provides a systematic and in-depth thematic account of the law and practice of the Court, including its changes context, the challenges it faces, and its overall contribution to international criminal law. The book is written by over forty leading practitioners and scholars from both inside and outside the Court. They provide an unparalleled insight into the Court as an institution, its jurisprudence, the impact of its activities, and its future development.

The work addresses the ways in which the practice of the International Criminal Court has emerged, and identifies ways in which this practice could be refined or improved in future cases. The book is organized along six key themes: (i) the context of International Criminal Court investigations and prosecutions; (ii) the relationship of the Court to domestic jurisdictions; (iii) prosecutorial policy and practice; (iv) the applicable law; (v) fairness and expeditiousness of proceedings; and (vi) its impact and lessons learned. It shows the ways in which the Court has offered fresh perspectives on the theorization and conception of crimes, charges and individual criminal responsibility. It examines the procedural framework of the Court, including the functioning of different stages of proceedings. The Court's decisions have significant repercussions: on domestic law, criminal theory, and the law of other international courts and tribunals. In this context, the book assesses the extent to which specific approaches and assumptions, both positive and negative, regarding the potential impact of the Court are in need of re-thinking. This book will be essential reading for practitioners, scholars, and students of international criminal law.

The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court

Edited by Carsten Stahn

The ICC at Ten: Achievements and Challenges in Perspective, Judge Sang-Hyun Song
Introduction, Carsten Stahn
Part 1: Context, Challenges, and Constraints
1. The ICC and 'Double Standards' of International Justice, Richard Dicker
2. The ICC and the Politics of Conflict, Leslie Vinjamuri
3. The ICC and the African Union, Anton Du Plessis & Ottilia Anna Maunganidze
4. Funding the Court, Stuart Ford
5. The ICC and Oversight by the Assembly of States Parties, Jonathan O'Donohue
Part 2: The Relationship to Domestic Jurisdictions
6. Jurisdictional Scope of Situations, Rod Rastan
7. Ad hoc Declarations of Acceptance of Jurisdiction, Mohamed M El Zeidy
8. Self-Referrals, Harmen van der Wilt
9. Admissibility Challenges Before the ICC, Carsten Stahn
10. The International Criminal Court and its Relationship to Non-States Parties, Robert Cryer
11. State Cooperation and Immunities, Dov Jacobs
Part 3: Prosecutorial Policy and Practice
12. Making the Most of Preliminary Examinations, Paul Seils
13. ICC Investigations, Susana SaCouto
14. The Office of the Prosecutor and the Selection of Situations and Cases, Fabricio Guariglia
15. Selecting Cases and Charging Crimes, William Schabas
16. Accountability of International Prosecutors, Jenia Iontcheva Turner
Part 4: The ICC and Its Applicable Law
17. The ICC and the Treatment of Sources of Law under Article 21, Gilbert Bitti
18. The ICC and Treaty Interpretation, Joseph Powderly
19. Theorizing Modes of Liability Under Article 25, Elies van Sliedregt
20. The ICC and Co-Perpetration, Jens David Ohlin
21. Indirect Perpetration, Thomas Weigend
22. Other Forms of Liability, Hector Olasolo
23. The ICC and JCE: What Contribution is Required Under Article 25 (3)(d)?, Kai Ambos
24. Superior Responsibility Under Article 28, Alejandro Kiss
25. Mental Elements, Mohamed Elewa Badar
26. Genocide, Claus Kress
27. Three Concepts of Crimes Against Humanity, Darryl Robinson
28. Charging War Crimes: Policy and Prognosis, Michael Newton
29. The Crime of Aggression, Roger S Clark
30. Charging Sexual and Gender-based violence, Niamh Hayes
31. Cumulative Charges and Cumulative Convictions, Carl-Friedrich Stuckenberg
Part 5: Fairness and Expeditiousness Of ICC Proceedings
32. The Role of the Pre-Trial Chamber, Simon De Smet
33. Confirmation of Charges, Ekkehard Withopf
34. Trial Procedures, Hakan Friman
35. Sentencing Theory and Practice, Margaret deGuzman
36. Appeals Procedure, Volker Nerlich
37. Legal Qualification of Facts under Regulation 55, Kevin Heller
38. Evidence and Disclosure - A Defence Perspective, Karim Khan QC
39. Evidence and Disclosure - A Prosecutorial Perspective, Alex Whiting
40. The ICC and the Protection of Witnesses, Markus Eikel
41. Victim Participation in the Practice of the ICC, Sergey Vasiliev
42. Reparations Before the ICC: Issues and Challenges, Conor McCarthy
Part 6: Impact, 'Legacy', and Lessons Learned
43. Deterrence and the ICC, Nick Grono & Anna de Courcy Wheeler
44. Complementarity and 'Legacy', Elizabeth Evenson
45. Living Legacy: What Has Been Learned About the Practice of Strengthening Domestic Investigative and Prosecutorial Capacity?, Andrew Cayley QC
Conclusion, Carsten Stahn

The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court

Edited by Carsten Stahn

Author Information

Carsten Stahn, Professor of International Criminal Law and Global Justice, Leiden University

Carsten Stahn is Professor of International Criminal Law and Global Justice at Leiden University and Program Director of the Grotius Centre. He is the author of The Law and Practice of International Territorial Administration: Versailles to Iraq and Beyond. He has published articles on international criminal law and transitional justice in leading international journals (American Journal of International Law, European Journal of International Law, Journal of International Criminal Justice, Harvard International Law Journal), and edited several collections of essays in the field.

Contributors:

Philipp Ambach - International Criminal Court
Kai Ambos - University of Göttingen
Mohamed Elewa Badar - Brunel University
Olympia Bekou - University of Nottingham
Gilbert Bitti - International Criminal Court
Andrew Cayley QC - ECCC
Caroline Buisman - Brunel University
Roger S Clark - Rutgers University
Robert Cryer - University of Birmingham
Anthony Cullen - Middlesex University
Marjolein Cupido - VU University Amsterdam
Simon De Smet - Cambridge University
Margaret M. deGuzman - Temple University
Richard Dicker - Human Rights Watch
Aiste Dumbryte - European Court of Human Rights
Anton du Plessis - Institute for Security Studies
Markus Eikel - International Criminal Court
Mohamed M. El Zeidy - International Criminal Court
Elizabeth Evenson - Human Rights Watch
Stuart Ford - John Marshall Law School
Håkan Friman - University College London
Nick Grono - International Crisis Group
Fabricio Guariglia - International Criminal Court
Niamh Hayes - Institute for International Criminal Investigations
Kevin John Heller - University of Melbourne
Dov Jacobs - Leiden University
Karim A.A. Khan QC - Temple Garden Chambers
Alejandro Kiss - International Criminal Court
Claus Kress - University of Cologne
Ottilia Anna Maunganidze - Institute for Security Studies, South Africa
Conor McCarthy - Doughty Street Chambers
Volker Nerlich - International Criminal Court
Michael Newton - Vanderbilt University
Jonathan O'Donohue - Amnesty International
Jens David Ohlin - Cornell Law School
Hector Olasolo - El Rosario University, Colombia
Sara Porro - University of Hamburg
Joseph Powderly - Leiden University
Rod Rastan - International Criminal Court
Darryl Robinson - Queen's University, Toronto
Emeric Rogier - International Criminal Court
Enrique Carnero Rojo - International Criminal Court
Susana SáCouto - American University, Washington College of Law
William A. Schabas - Middlesex & Leiden University
Paul Seils - International Centre for Transitional Justice
Alison Smith - Legal Counsel and Director for International Criminal Justice Programme for No Peace Without Justice
Carsten Stahn - Leiden University
Ignaz Stegmiller - University of Giessen
Carl-Friedrich Stuckenberg - University of Bonn
Katherine Cleary Thompson - American University, Washington College of Law
Jenia Iontcheva Turner - SMU Dedman School of Law
Harmen van der Wilt - University of Amsterdam
Elies van Sliedregt - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Sergey Vasiliev - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Deborah Ruiz Verduzco - International Criminal Court
Leslie Vinjamuri - Centre for the International Politics of Conflict
Thomas Weigend - University of Köln
Anna de Courcy Wheeler - International Crisis Group
Alex Whiting - Harvard Law School

The Law and Practice of the International Criminal Court

Edited by Carsten Stahn

From Our Blog

How fair are criticisms of the ICC?

It has become topical to say that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is in crisis. For some, the ICC has stepped from crisis to crisis. Even before its existence, the Court has been for criticized for its selectivity, statutory limitations, and potential overreach. The ICC faces serious challenges in relation to credibility, legitimacy and expectations. I would like revisit some of these critiques. Looking back at the past decade, it seems that both the work of the ICC, and some of its criticisms, deserve further scrutiny.

Posted on November 23, 2015

Read the blog post

Three challenges for the International Criminal Court

The Rome Statute system is a partnership between the International Criminal Court as an institution and its governing body, the Assembly of States Parties. Both must work together in order to overcome a number of challenges, which fall within three broad themes.

Posted on November 16, 2015

Read the blog post

How much money does the International Criminal Court need?

In the current geopolitical context, the International Criminal Court has managed to stand its ground as a well-accepted international organization. Since its creation in 1998, the ICC has seen four countries refer situations on their own territory and adopted the Rome Statute which solidified the Court's role in international criminal law. Is the ICC sufficiently funded, how is the money spent, and what does this look like when compared to other international organisations?

Posted on July 27, 2015

Read the blog post