JUSTICE WITHOUT POWER - THE ICC’S STRUGGLE TO ENFORCE ITS WILL

Résumé

This research paper critiques the ICC failure at prosecuting war crimes, or its inability to execute arrest warrants and judgments absent state support. In its earliest mandate of battling impunity for war crimes in international crimes, the ICC remains organizationally reliant upon member states in order to effectuate—its sole limitation jeopardizing its effectiveness in bringing about justice. The article analyses legal, political, and institutional barriers to enforcement like state non-cooperation, political interference, and absence of an independent enforcement agency. High-profile cases like Sudan's Omar al-Bashir's non-arrest show the Court's inaction against influential or strategically protected targets. The article also analyzes broader implications of non-enforcement like compromised deterrence, reputational harm, and victim and international confidence erosion. Stepping away from the analogy with ad hoc tribunals and regional courts, this paper proposes a reform package to enhance the ICC's enforcement capacity through diplomatic, institutional, and cooperative means. It argues that unless the enforcement deficit is remedied, the ICC mandate would be incomplete, and international criminal justice would be susceptible to selective accountability.