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The Failure of the International Criminal Court (ICC)

(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Amb. Alan Baker - There is a growing concern that the International Criminal Court (ICC), established in 1998, is irreparably and institutionally flawed and politicized. Regrettably, and despite the best intentions of its founders, the independence and impartiality of the Court was flawed from the outset by constitutionally linking the Court with the United Nations. Placing part of the ICC's financing at the political mercy of the UN General Assembly undermines and prejudices any pretension of independence of the Court. In a similar manner, the establishment of an "Assembly of States Parties" as the Court's management, oversight, and legislative body, composed of representatives of the states that have ratified the Rome Statute, places the judicial independence of the Court at the whim of a political majority. The acceptance of a non-existent "Palestinian state" as a full-fledged member state by the Court is an example of how the ICC is dependent upon political determinations of the UN General Assembly. The Palestinians have adopted the ICC as their own "back-yard tribunal" for baiting Israel. The writer, former legal adviser and deputy director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in the negotiation and drafting of the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians, as well as agreements and peace treaties with Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon.
2019-11-22 00:00:00
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