Critically assess the principle of complementarity in the development of the International Criminal Court’s Jurisdiction.

Critically assess the prin" rel="nofollow">inciple of complementarity in" rel="nofollow">in the development of the International Crimin" rel="nofollow">inal Court’s Jurisdiction. This paper will explain" rel="nofollow">in and comment upon the prin" rel="nofollow">inciple of complementarity under the Statute of the International Crimin" rel="nofollow">inal Court. It will contrast the jurisdiction of the ICC to universal jurisdiction and national jurisdiction over in" rel="nofollow">international crimes. The essay will in" rel="nofollow">in particular assess the arguments and decision over jurisdiction in" rel="nofollow">in the Libya case (Al Senussi and Gaddafi) at the ICC. It will reflect on the problem of resolvin" rel="nofollow">ing conflicts over the in" rel="nofollow">interpretation of article 17 of the Statute. The paper will take in" rel="nofollow">into account the view of Frederick Megret and Marika Giles Sampson, Luc Reydams and Carsten Stahn. Indicative Readin" rel="nofollow">ing: Robert Cryer, Hakan Friman, Darryl Robin" rel="nofollow">inson, Elizabeth Wilmshurst, An Introduction to International Crimin" rel="nofollow">inal Law and Procedure, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010) chapters 3 and 4. Luc Reydams, Universal Jurisdiction: International and Municipal Perspectives (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). Stephen Macedo, Universal Jurisdiction: National Courts and the Prosecution of Serious Crimes under International Law (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006). Carsten Stahn, Libya, the International Crimin" rel="nofollow">inal Court and Complementarity: A test for ‘Shared Responsibility, Journal of International Crimin" rel="nofollow">inal Justice, Vol. 10, No. 2 (2012), 325-349. Frederic Megret and Marika Giles Samson, Holdin" rel="nofollow">ing the Lin" rel="nofollow">ine on Complementarity in" rel="nofollow">in Libya: The Case for Toleratin" rel="nofollow">ing Flawed Domestic Trials, Journal of International Crimin" rel="nofollow">inal Justice, Vol. 11, Issue 3 (2013), 571-589. Nabil Nidal Jurdi, The International Crimin" rel="nofollow">inal Court and National Courts: A contentious relationship (Aldershot and Burlin" rel="nofollow">ington: Ashgate, 2011). it is a complex case and as is the first one on the application of article 17 it is alas very in" rel="nofollow">interestin" rel="nofollow">ing. As you know article 17 deals with admissibility and negotiates the relationship between in" rel="nofollow">international and national jurisdiction - in" rel="nofollow">in other words the parameters of complementarily. In the Libya case - I assume you are writin" rel="nofollow">ing about the proceedin" rel="nofollow">ings that were published in" rel="nofollow">in May 2014 - the court has to decide on the claims of the Libyan authorities and that meant it had to satisfy itself that of the scope of the article. The provision falls in" rel="nofollow">into three: (1) the identification of three situations in" rel="nofollow">in which a case would not be admissible; (2) the way that the court assess the unwillin" rel="nofollow">ingness of state to try a case and (3) an assessment of the capacity of the national legal system to act. What of course is important to grasp is that it is the ICC which is makin" rel="nofollow">ing these determin" rel="nofollow">inations. In other words at the end of the day it is the ICC which sets the relationship between national and in" rel="nofollow">international jurisdiction - which means that complementarity is in" rel="nofollow">in the hands of in" rel="nofollow">international jurisdiction. In the Gaddafi case the court is therefore assessin" rel="nofollow">ing the ability of the Libyan authorities to exercise jurisdiction by applyin" rel="nofollow">ing these provisions. It would be worthwhile comparin" rel="nofollow">ing the judgment on Gaddafi with the part of the judgment that deals with Sanussi as this helps us understand the way the court decides on the issues. The essay is therefore a close textual analysis of the judgment.