Introduction

Steven van Hoogstraten *

This book is a compilation of reflections on some widely divergent themes in public and in international criminal law. From the constitutional role of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) within the UN system to the innovation of international criminal law. From the jurisdictional complexities of the ICJ to the universal protection of human rights. The history and legacy of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The widely known Yukos arbitral award by the PCA. What these themes have in common are basically two matters. The first is that they try to identify more the underlying thoughts and considerations – what I would call the legal political considerations – than the detailed description of a subject. General impression and a helicopter view take precedence over minute description. And the second is that most of these contributions have been produced in , the international city of and Justice. More in particular these reflections are in some way related to in the Peace Palace, home to the ICJ and the PCA. The Peace Palace was the result of The Hague peace treaties of 1899 and 1907 and it opened its doors in 1913 after steel magnate Andrew Carnegie donated a grand sum of money. This iconic Peace Palace has contributed so much to the image of The Hague, city of the government of the and city of diplomats, international organizations and courts. It is for that reason that this book has the intention of giving “a view from The Hague”. In so doing it shows that The Hague houses not simply a number of international institutions but that there is also a lively debate amongst academics and practitioners about the application and the

* Former General Director of the Carnegie Foundation, and Treasurer of The Hague Academy of International Law.

1 steven van hoogstraten further development of international law in the broadest sense. By the way, the book does not go into the area of international private law, which would justify a book or two all by itself. The Secretary-General (SG) of the has contri- buted much to this notion of The Hague as an international city of Peace and Justice. During the celebration of the Centenary of the Peace Palace (28 August 2013) SG Ban Ki-moon said – I was sitting on the first row opposite from where he spoke – that The Hague has effectively become “the legal capital of the world, the epicentre of justice and accountability”. Being a citizen of The Hague, I was proud of that expression as it brought the notions of justice and accountability together in one phrase. Basically the work of the International Court of Justice, of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and of the International Criminal Court were combined in one thought, in one formula. As far as I am concerned, his expression should be carved in stone, and serve as the crown on the work for international justice in The Hague for over a 100 years. And it should serve as its ambition for the next century. When the successor of Ban Ki-moon as the SG of the UN, Antonio Guterres, was in The Hague for the first time in December 2017 to be part of the conclusion of the work of the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia he said in his official speech, inter alia, “The creation of the ICTY in 1993 was a ground breaking moment. It had been close to half a century since the Nuremberg and Tokyo War Crimes Trials . . . By voting unanimously for the creation of the first ever criminal tribunal within the United Nations, the Security Council noted that it was ‘convinced’ that it would contribute to the restoration and maintenance of peace, thereby highlighting the close links between international criminal justice and the Organization’s core mission. I would sincerely like that this feeling would remain today”, said SG Guterres. The

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