The Rome Statute and Domestic Proceedings for Ordinary Crimes: The (In)Admissibility of Cases before the International Criminal Court

Abstract

This chapter argues that the regulation of the admissibility of cases before the Court in light of the principle of complementarity is not based on the distinction between international and ordinary crimes. The drafters of the Rome Statute adopted a model of impunity according to which what is relevant is that the action undertaken at the national level ensures that perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community are genuinely brought to justice. The fundamental distinction between international and ordinary crimes, in terms of nature and values protected, was often recalled by the judges of the adhoc tribunals. Direct sanctioning of the recourse of domestic courts to ordinary crimes, in a scenario in which not all states embrace the distinction between international and ordinary crimes, would have provoked the risk of undermining proper functioning of the Court, by overwhelming an institution with limited resources and infrastructure. Keywords:adhoc tribunals; admissibility of cases; international crimes; international criminal court (ICC); ordinary crimes; Rome statute