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The enigma of the International Criminal Court's success
William Schabas
17 - 2 - 2006
That the International Criminal Court should become an active, effective institution of global justice was always intended yet it has confounded even its own architects with its unexpected growth and popularity, says William Schabas.
Almost eight years since it was established with the adoption of the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court continues to gain inexorable momentum, surpassing the expectations of even its keenest supporters. In November 2005 it reached the important threshold of one hundred member states. Back in 1998, when the Statute was adopted following a dramatic and unprecedented diplomatic conference, it was thought it would take a decade to reach the magic number of sixty member states required for the court to actually begin to operate. Now it is a thriving institution, with arrest warrants for suspects in Uganda, and ongoing investigations in Darfur and eastern Congo.
In this article William Schabas is reviewing Marlies Glasius, The International Criminal Court: A Global Civil Society Achievement, Routledge, 2006
Surprisingly, even what looked like the biggest obstacle to the court's success, the opposition of the United States, seems to have withered. In March 2005, the US actually handed the ICC its biggest case, when it abstained in the Security Council vote to refer the Darfur situation. Washington's initial roar of protest is now only a whimper. A new study by Marlies Glasius into the enormous contribution made to the Rome Statute's development by the NGOs, social movements, pressure groups and other non-state actors that constitute "global civil society", touches on important clues to the institution's mysterious success.
Continue to read:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/forums/thread.jspa?forumID=87&threadID=46037&tstart=0
William Schabas
17 - 2 - 2006
That the International Criminal Court should become an active, effective institution of global justice was always intended yet it has confounded even its own architects with its unexpected growth and popularity, says William Schabas.
Almost eight years since it was established with the adoption of the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court continues to gain inexorable momentum, surpassing the expectations of even its keenest supporters. In November 2005 it reached the important threshold of one hundred member states. Back in 1998, when the Statute was adopted following a dramatic and unprecedented diplomatic conference, it was thought it would take a decade to reach the magic number of sixty member states required for the court to actually begin to operate. Now it is a thriving institution, with arrest warrants for suspects in Uganda, and ongoing investigations in Darfur and eastern Congo.
In this article William Schabas is reviewing Marlies Glasius, The International Criminal Court: A Global Civil Society Achievement, Routledge, 2006
Surprisingly, even what looked like the biggest obstacle to the court's success, the opposition of the United States, seems to have withered. In March 2005, the US actually handed the ICC its biggest case, when it abstained in the Security Council vote to refer the Darfur situation. Washington's initial roar of protest is now only a whimper. A new study by Marlies Glasius into the enormous contribution made to the Rome Statute's development by the NGOs, social movements, pressure groups and other non-state actors that constitute "global civil society", touches on important clues to the institution's mysterious success.
Continue to read:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/forums/thread.jspa?forumID=87&threadID=46037&tstart=0
