The need for an international criminal court came about by the fact that international community did not have adequate instruments to punish those who committed serious international crimes. Abuse of human rights law at the international level went unpunished due to the lack of legal structure and therefore punishment for these international crimes was left to domestic courts. The problem with the domestic courts was that they were used as agents of the criminals. They were therefore either reluctant or unable to bring the perpetrators of international crimes to justice. For instance, in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the governments themselves were involved in the commission of the crimes and the national courts protected …show more content…
The connection between international human rights law and global justice,
3. The need for an international criminal court and the creation of the ICC,
4. To explain the features of the ICC,
5. Crimes prosecuted by the court,
6. The challenges and successes of the Court in enforcing international human rights law.
Hypothesis
This research will be based on various hypotheses; that the ICC was established to end impunity, to prosecute the offenders of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and it is a permanent international criminal court established by its Statute to enforce international humanitarian and human rights law by bringing those responsible for gross violations of these laws to book. However, the Court has not been very effective. There are certain gaps that need to be filled in order to ensure the Court is effective in its role of enforcing human rights law.
Scope and Limitation of the Study
My research paper will deal with the role that the ICC plays in the enforcement of international human rights law and the extent to which the Court can be said to have performed this role and what factors have hindered the Court from performing this role. The major limitation of this study is the availability of adequate research materials on the …show more content…
I will use the book An Introduction to the International Criminal Court, by William Schabas. In this book Schabas reviews the history of international criminal prosecution, the drafting of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the doctrines of its operation including the scope of its jurisdiction and the procedural regime. The author traces the events that led to the formation of the ICC, from pre- Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals to the end of the cold war and the formation of the ICTY and ICTR. The author argues in this book that the final draft of the Rome Statute is not without its limitations, but it could be the most important institutional advancement since the establishment of the United Nations. This argument highlights the significance of the ICC in terms of enforcing international human rights law. Schabas observes that the success of the Court will match the growth of international human rights