Abstract
This chapter tackles the question whether a subsidiarity/complementarity
principle – as is set out in Article 17 of the Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court – governs domestic prosecutions for international
crimes on the basis of universal jurisdiction (a ‘horizontal’ complementarity
principle): are ‘bystander’ states that have no link with those crimes
but nevertheless want to prosecute them required to defer to states that
have a stronger link and that are able and willing to investigate and prosecute?
The author derives from a discussion of six relevant elements of
the international legal system that there is no strong legal requirement of
horizontal complementarity. Nevertheless, it amounts to proper criminal
policy to defer to ‘territorial’ states (states on the territory of which the
crime has been committed) that intend to embark in good faith on their
own investigations and prosecutions.
principle – as is set out in Article 17 of the Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court – governs domestic prosecutions for international
crimes on the basis of universal jurisdiction (a ‘horizontal’ complementarity
principle): are ‘bystander’ states that have no link with those crimes
but nevertheless want to prosecute them required to defer to states that
have a stronger link and that are able and willing to investigate and prosecute?
The author derives from a discussion of six relevant elements of
the international legal system that there is no strong legal requirement of
horizontal complementarity. Nevertheless, it amounts to proper criminal
policy to defer to ‘territorial’ states (states on the territory of which the
crime has been committed) that intend to embark in good faith on their
own investigations and prosecutions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The International Criminal Court and Complementarity |
| Subtitle of host publication | From Theory to Practice |
| Editors | C. Stahn, M.M. El-Zeidy |
| Place of Publication | Cambridge |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Pages | 855-887 |
| Number of pages | 33 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781107011588 |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 |