The relationship between the international criminal court, the united nations security council and international criminal justice
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Date
2010-09
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Kampala International University, School of Law
Abstract
This research assessed the relationship between the international criminal court (icc) and the united nations security council (unsc). although the establishment of the international criminal court was welcomed, and many people thought it to be a measure to avoid the accusations of double standards, or “victor’s justice,” which marked some previous international criminal tribunals, the research question was, whether the relationship between the icc and the unsc does not unnecessarily cause judicial interference and as a result lead to injustice. however, upon analyzing the powers of the united nations security council under the un charter of maintaining international peace and security, which power under chapter vii allows the council to take any measure to prevent a threat to security, it is under the same mandate that the Rome statute of the icc allows the unsc to refer cases to the international criminal court. thus, the findings of the research disclose that this relationship does not in any way lead to injustice, since this was clearly stated by the international court of justice(icc) in the Lockerbie case where the court tangentially considered this issue1. in its decision on provisional measures, the court accepted that by virtue of article 103 of the un charter obligations under the charter (including decisions of the security council imposing sanctions) prevailed over obligations contained in other international agreements, there are thoughts that, article 16 was intended to be applied on a case-by-case basis to specific situations, where icc proceedings could interfere with efforts to restore or maintain international peace and security. therefore, this research discloses that, the relationship although necessary, and is intended to serve international criminal justice, there are many concerns over the veto powers of the permanent members and thus the researcher suggests that, if justice is to be seen as done, the structure of membership of the unsc should be reviewed such that all people are equal before the law as one of the principle of legality.
Description
A thesis presented to the school of postgraduate studies and research Kampala international university Kampala, Uganda in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a master of laws degree (LLM public international law)
Keywords
International criminal court, United nations, Security council, International criminal justice