Opinion: The ICC’s conflict with the Trump administration shows why the court must change
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court in 2015. By David Bosco April 12 at 1:52 PM David Bosco is an associate professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of “Rough Justice: The International Criminal Court in a World of Power Politics.”
The decision will help defuse the immediate crisis between The Hague and Washington. But it may be appealed, and the entire saga highlights why the court’s member states still need to address problems in the court’s design. They would be wise to use this moment to systematically plan for a more restrained but ultimately effective court.
By contrast, the ICC is a permanent court with staff ready to investigate myriad situations around the world. Its 122 member states only episodically focus on the court’s activities and effectiveness. The court’s underlying statute and rules do not give the prosecutor any clear mechanism to consider whether there is enough political support for an investigation to have a meaningful impact.
An even more difficult situation awaits on the horizon: the Palestinian territories. The ICC is inching toward an investigation of alleged crimes that will probably include scrutiny of high-level Israeli officials for the country’s settlement policies. Like the United States, Israel has not joined the court and rejects its jurisdiction over Israeli citizens.
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