Uche, M. 2024. The Time is Now: Why and How the OTP’s Policy on Complementarity and Cooperation Should Concretise Its Promise of Bringing Justice Closer to Victims. Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Annual Conference 2024. University of Portsmouth 26 - 28 Mar 2024
| Title | The Time is Now: Why and How the OTP’s Policy on Complementarity and Cooperation Should Concretise Its Promise of Bringing Justice Closer to Victims |
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| Authors | Uche, M. |
| Type | Conference paper |
| Abstract | The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched a public consultation for its Draft Policy on Complementarity and Cooperation in October 2023. The Draft Policy buttresses the inseparability of the principles of complementarity and cooperation which underpin the Rome Statute and are pivotal for addressing international crimes and delivering justice to victims. Throughout the Draft Policy, the relevance of complementarity for victims of international crimes is mentioned and the Draft Policy also contains the OTP’s commitment to bring justice closer to victims. Nonetheless, there are gaps in how the OTP plans to achieve this aim, especially with the ICC’s incipient caselaw on deference under Article 18 of the Rome Statute and the current political climate. This paper analyses three main aspects of the Draft Policy, (1) consultations with states whether limited to burden sharing, or on the nature and manner of support the OTP provides to them and the need for inclusivity, (2) the conclusion of memorandum of understandings, including in the context of Article 18 deferral proceedings, and completion strategies, and (3) embedding the OTP’s work within the full range of mechanisms for addressing international crimes. It highlights gaps within these areas of the Draft Policy and proposes measures through which it can be strengthened, with the hope that these can translate into making justice more victim oriented in The Hague and in domestic jurisdictions. This paper mirrors the author’s comment submitted to the OTP in response to the latter’s public consultation on the Draft Policy. |
| Keywords | Complementarity, victims of international crimes, victim-oriented justice, victim-oriented qualified deference |
| Year | 2024 |
| Conference | Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Annual Conference 2024 |
| Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |