Existential Threats to the International Criminal Court: Making Sense of the Convergence of Disparate Geo-political Interests and Ideological Positions

Abstract

The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 1998 was welcomed by many as a progressive step towards ending the impunity of those who commit international crimes. However, there appears to be serious legitimacy and existential threats to the ICC. Those at the forefront of the attack on the ICC, such as the United States of America (United States) and the African Union, have fundamentally different geo-political interests and pursue largely different ideological positions. The reasons advanced by these disparate enemies of the ICC are different but are largely informed by the different fears they have for the Court. This article aims to expose the various interests behind the efforts to delegitimise and destroy the ICC. The article also seeks to demonstrate the different strategies used by the ICC’s nemeses in their attacks on the Court. To achieve this, the article provides an overview of the relationship of various United States administrations with the ICC. I trace the United States’ initial support for the ICC and, thereafter, try to set out why it suddenly morphed into one of the Court’s foremost nemeses. I also outline the various strategies that the United States has employed in its attack on the ICC. I then discuss the AU’s troubled relationship with the ICC, starting with the AU’s overwhelming endorsement of the ICC project, to the current situation where there is a general view within the body that the Court is anti-African. I attempt to unpack the reasons for this troubled relationship between the AU and ICC. I also outline the strategies the AU (and some of its Member States) employs in its attack on the ICC. I conclude by positing that it is crucial for those who may want to save the ICC from collapse to understand the different fears of its nemeses and the different strategies they have been employing to destroy it. It is only through such an understanding that formidable counter strategies may be employed to mitigate the legitimacy and existential threats to the ICC.