International Criminal Court Case: The International Criminal Court (ICC)

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THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)

The International Criminal Court (ICC), located in The Hague, is the court of last resort for prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, entered into force on July 1, 2002. Over the last decade the court has made significant headway in putting international justice on the map. As of June 2015, the ICC had 123 states parties, had opened investigations in eight countries, and had issued three verdicts. But while the ICC is now responsible for international criminal accountability, its daunting mandate and world-wide reach have made the its flaws more visible. The court and its member countries face major challenges in meeting expanded expectations for the court in its second decade.

ICC Criminal Law
1. Introduction
The ICC has revolutionized international …show more content…

Historical approach to victims' participation
To understand the changes the ICC brings to this area, it is necessary to outline the historic approaches to the role of victims in criminal proceedings. There are some important conceptual differences between the common and civil law traditions. Many civil law jurisdictions allow victims "to participate directly in proceedings". The approach of common law countries is different and "criminal prosecution is seen as essentially a matter of public policy in which victims have a role that is marginal at the best of times."
The early approach towards victims under international criminal law followed common law thinking "and had relatively little to say with respect to victims". The example of this approach was the Nüremberg tribunal, which largely ignored the interests and needs of the victims.
The view towards victims' participation is different today, influenced by a number of factors: the need to rehabilitate the victims, strengthen their marginal role in the adversarial criminal justice systems and protect the rights of the most vulnerable groups – women and

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