The ICC beyond the courtroom: Activities, warnings, and impact

Abstract

Although the ICC is, first and foremost, a court, it is also a quasi-judicial body and a large international bureaucracy. In addition to trying suspected perpetrators, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor makes statements about instances of mass atrocity, conducts site visits, and puts situations under preliminary examination. Although much of the scholarly research has focused on the ICC’s prosecutorial work, the Court’s work beyond the courtroom is equally important for understanding how and under which conditions the ICC can facilitate accountability and deter atrocity crimes. In this article, we document the breadth and scope of the ICC’s work beyond the courtroom. First, we offer a theoretical framework for understanding these activities. We then introduce a new dataset on the ICC’s activities beyond the courtroom, which we use to answer three questions: (1) What activities does the ICC undertake before and in parallel to prosecutions? (2) How do those activities align with the threats the ICC makes to prosecute perpetrators? (3) When does the ICC follow through with its threats? We conclude by considering the broader impacts of the ICC’s work beyond the courtroom, which will continue to shape the role of the ICC in the coming decades.