PRIF Report No. 127 Growing Up Rough: The Changing Politics of Justice at the International Criminal Court Caroline Fehl the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) 2014 Correspondence to: PRIF (HSFK) Baseler Straße 27-31 60329 Frankfurt am Main Germany Telephone: +49(0)69 95 91 04-0 Fax: +49(0)69 55 84 81 E-mail:
[email protected] ISBN 978-3-942532-76-1 Euro 10,-- Summary The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established at The Hague in 2002 with a mandate to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression. The ICC operates as a court of “last resort” that becomes active only when national governments are unwilling or unable to prosecute relevant crimes. Its jurisdiction is subject to various conditions, and can be triggered by the referral of a “situation” to the Court by the UN Security Council, by a state party referral, or through a proprio motu investigation initiated by the ICC Prosecutor. Since taking up its work in 2002, the ICC has investigated nine situations, held six trials of individuals and handed down two convictions. In addition, it has conducted 12 preliminary examinations that have not resulted in the opening of official investigations. All investigations and trials to date have focused on African countries. From its inception, the ICC has been a highly contested institution-building project. Already the negotiations about its statute were marked by heated controversies among participating states. Following the statute’s entry into force, political debates have continued to surround the Court’s relationship with member and non-member states as well as its investigations, arrest warrants and trials have continued to be the subject of political debates.