What Are The Pros And Cons Of The International Criminal Court

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a court of last resort; it is an intergovernmental organization aimed at bringing to justice individuals charged with crimes of international concern such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. It is a relatively new organization established in 2002. The ICC prosecutes criminals who have not been tried by their own national judiciary system or feel have been unrightfully protected by their national government removing an individual from criminal responsibility. The ICC is not a mandatory organization all countries must be a part of, it is only valid in countries that have decided to ratify the treaty of the Rome Statute. There are currently 124 countries in which the ICC has legal jurisdiction. In hindsight the ICC seems to be a valid organization that rightfully prosecutes all sorts of criminals from all ratified states, aiding and protecting individual states and the global community, however, there are many …show more content…

It can be seen as an alternative party without biases in the eyes of many. The ICC does not involve itself with countries that decide they do not want any part of this organization and does not pressure either; ratification is voluntary. Instead, it promotes peace and stability prosecuting only certain crimes in their jurisdiction in hopes of not taking too much power from national judiciary systems. They are the last resort court that stays within their jurisdiction, therefore their interferences and involvement in a case will only occur is a state cannot appropriately handle the case. They do not prosecute crimes that occurred before 2002 and do not prosecute states only individuals. Solely prosecuting individuals ease global turmoil. It shifts blame from a country to an individual who carries out criminal acts, thus removing any implications of multi state

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