STATEHOOD, SELF-DETERMINATION AND INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE. A FEW REMARKS - DOI: 10.12818/P.0304-2340.2019v75p249

Abstract

In this paper, I will attempt to outline the relationship between international criminal justice and self-determination and explore how it has developed in recent years. Focus will also be dedicated to understanding how the positions of States towards international criminal justice affect their standing and their capacity in international relations. Thus, I will first briefly describe how international criminal justice can affect States and entities aspiring to statehood and how it could strengthen or weaken, in specific cases, uncertain territorial situations. This reconstruction has led to divergent conclusions regarding the impact of international criminal justice on self-determination in situations that appear to be quite similar. The paper will then look into the positions of those States that criticize international criminal justice on the basis, inter alia, of its alleged negative impact on the right of self-determination. Since these positions predominantly concern recent ICC activities in Africa, a perusal of the trigger mechanisms in that context should provide some useful suggestions to better understand the relationship between self-determination and international criminal justice. The final section is dedicated to drawing some brief conclusions.