Selectivity in the Practice of the International Criminal Court
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5937/crimen2601036B%20Keywords:
International Criminal Court, jurisdiction, complementarity, Ukraine, PalestineAbstract
This article examines the practice of the International Criminal Court with particular reference to its engagement in relation to armed conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine. The aim of the research is to assess whether differences in the temporal dynamics of proceedings, institutional support, available resources and prosecutorial operational activities indicate patterns of selectivity in the Court’s practice. Taking into account the limitations arising from the treaty-based nature of the Rome Statute and the principle of complementarity, the article employs a normative approach and case study methodology to compare the legal basis of jurisdiction, the course of preliminary examinations, the level of international support and the concrete procedural steps undertaken in the two analysed situations.
Although investigations have been opened and arrest warrants issued against senior political and military officials in both cases, the analysis points to significant differences in the degree of prosecutorial engagement, the financial and logistical capacities available, as well as the broader political context in which the proceedings unfold. These findings raise important questions regarding the consistent application of the principles of impartiality and institutional independence of the International Criminal Court in contemporary international relations.
Downloads
References
Abdou, Mohamed. In Commentary on the Law of the International Criminal Court, ed. Mark Klamberg. Brussels: Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1017/s2044251317000030
Abu Murad, Murad. “Jurisdiction of ICC over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians under the complementarity principle.” Brawijaya Law Journal 11, no. 1 (2024): 112–134. https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.blj.2024.011.01.06
Akiko, Ivana. “The Role Of International Criminal Court In Command Responsibility Towards Benjamin Netanyahu At Israeli-Palestine Conflict.” Justices: Journal of Law 4, no. 4 (2025): 257–266. https://doi.org/10.58355/justices.v4i4.195
Arbour, Louise. “The Relationship between the ICC and the UN Security Council.” Global Governance 20, no. 2 (2014): 195–201. https://doi.org/10.1163/19426720-02002002
Becker, Steven W. “The objections of larger nations to the ICC.” Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal 81, no. 1–2 (2010): 47–64.
https://doi.org/10.3917/ridp.811.0047
Bergsmo, Morten. “The Jurisdictional Régime of the International Criminal Court.” European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 4, no. 6 (1998): 30–41. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718179820518601
Brunger, Yassin M. In Commentary on the Law of the International Criminal Court, ed. Mark Klamberg. Brussels: Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1017/s2044251317000030
Burke-White, William. “Implementing a Policy of Positive Complementarity in the Rome System of Justice.” Criminal Law Forum 19, no. 1 (January 2008): 59–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10609-007-9050-9
Cassese, Antonio. Međunarodno krivično pravo. Beograd: Beogradski centar za ljudska prava, 2005. https://doi.org/10.14712/12128112.3883
Conway, Gerard. In Commentary on the Law of the International Criminal Court, ed. Mark Klamberg. Brussels: Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1017/s2044251317000030
Damaška, Mirjan. “Pravi ciljevi međunarodnog kaznenog pravosuđa.” Hrvatski ljetopis za kazneno pravo i praksu 15, no. 1 (2008): 13–33.
Drumbl, Mark A. “Pluralizing International Criminal Justice.” Michigan Law Review 103, no. 6 (May 2005): 1295–1322.
Holmes, John T. “The Principle of Complementarity”. In The International Criminal Court: the making of the Rome Statute – issues, negotiations, results, ed. Roy S. Leer. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1999. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004639157_008
Kirsch, Philippe, John T. Holmes. “The Rome Conference on an International Criminal Court: The Negotiating Process.”, American Journal of International Law 93, no. 1 (January 1999): 2–12. https://doi.org/10.2307/2997952
Malanczuk Peter. Akehurst’s Modern Introduction to International Law. New York: Routledge, 1997.
Murphy, Sean D. “U.S. Bilateral Agreements Relating to the ICC.” American Journal of International Law 97, no. 1 (2017): 200–203. https://doi.org/10.2307/3087129
Müller, Andreas, Ignaz Stegmiller. “Self-Referrals on Trial: From Panacea to Patient.” Journal of International Criminal Justice 8, no. 5 (2010): 1267–1291. https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqq072
Osiel, Mark. “The Banality of Good; Aligning Incentives Against Mass Atrocity.” Columbia Law Review 105, no. 6 (2005): 1751–1862.
Schabas, William A. An Introduction to the International Criminal Court. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Schabas, William A. The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1093/law/9780199560738.001.0001
Schabas, William A. “United States Hostility to the International Criminal Court: It’s All About the Security Council.” European Journal of International Law 15, no. 4 (2004): 701–720. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/15.4.701
Scharf, Michael P. “The Politics Behind U.S. Opposition to the International Criminal Court.” The Brown Journal of World Affairs 6, no. 1 (1999): 67–78.
Scharf, Michael P. “The ICC’s Jurisdiction Over the Nationals of Non-Party States: A Critique of the U.S. Position.” Law and Contemporary Problems 64, no. 1 (2001): 67–79. https://doi.org/10.2307/1192355
Scheffer, David J. “The United States and the International Criminal Court.” American Journal of International Law 93, no. 1 (1999): 12–22.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2997953
Shereshevsky, Yahli. “Complementarity (Un)Fairness: Powerful States and their Ability to Avoid ICC Proceedings by Conducting Domestic Investigations.” Journal of International Criminal Justice 23, no. 2 (2025): 227–248. https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqaf013
Schwarzenberger, Georg. “The Problem of an International Criminal Law.” Current Legal Problems, no. 1 (1950): 263–275. https://doi.org/10.1093/clp/3.1.263
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Vanja Bajović
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, allowing others to share the work with proper attribution to the authors and acknowledgment of its original publication in this journal.
