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Brown, Bartram S. --- "Preface" [2011] ELECD 91; in Brown, S. Bartram (ed), "Research Handbook on International Criminal Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Research Handbook on International Criminal Law

Editor(s): Brown, S. Bartram

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847202789

Section Title: Preface

Author(s): Brown, Bartram S.

Number of pages: 2

Extract:

Preface


Since the 1993 creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) international law has been applied, as rarely before, to hold individuals directly
accountable for their criminal acts. The ICTY and its sister institution the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) have brought perpetrators of genocide, war crimes
and crimes against humanity to justice, and a permanent International Criminal Court
(ICC), recently established by treaty, is working on its first cases.
Some, including many West European governments, trumpet these developments as
inevitable and long overdue in today's increasingly globalized and inter-dependent world.
Others, especially within the US government, are concerned that independent and effec-
tive norms and institutions of international criminal law could undermine both state sover-
eignty and national security. The United States has never accepted the ICC Treaty, and for
that reason alone the appropriate balance between the jurisdiction of national courts and
of international criminal courts remains a matter of some controversy.
Although the ICC has been successfully established, its fate has not been fully deter-
mined. It faces cross-cutting pressures. It is expected to act effectively and yet to be
scrupulously fair and impartial with regard both to the individuals being investigated and
also concerning any countries whose legitimate interests may be implicated. The practice
and experience of the next several years should define the direction of things to come. The
ICC may grow into a strong pillar of the international community, or it may wither into
ineffectiveness.
Whatever ...