The principle of complementarity provides a framework as to when the Prosecutor of the ICC may and should interfere "vis-a-vis" national judicial systems. The principle acknowledges the primary right of states to prosecute while also recognising the need for international interference when states fail in this task. As formulated in the Rome Statute, however, it leaves complex questions unresolved. To mention a few: When is a national criminal proceeding really an attempt to shield the perpetrator? When can a national judicial system be characterised as unavailable? And when will an ICC prosecution serve the interests of justice? This book seeks to answer these and other related questions by interpreting the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute and discussing them in a broad context. The book also critically assesses policy considerations underlying the establishment of the ICC, including the implications of international criminal justice for achieving peace. It asks, "inter alia," whether the ICC should set aside an amnesty which a national truth commission has granted in an attempt to achieve a peaceful transition from tyranny to democracy.

This book analyzes the position of the ICC in relation to national court systems. The research illustrates that what seemed to be a straight forward relationship between the ICC and national courts under the complementarity mechanism, proves to be much more complex in practice. Using the referrals of Uganda and Darfur, the book demonstrates ways in which it might be possible to prosecute for crimes currently not prosecuted by the ICC and brings to light possible solutions to overcome the gaps in law and practice in the jurisdictional relation between the ICC and national systems. It will be of value to academics, students and policy-makers working in the area of international law, international organizations, and human rights.

The first book-length work to provide a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the ICC's jurisdiction over nationals of non-States Parties.

Galand critically spells out a comprehensive conception of the nature and effects of Security Council referrals that responds to the various limits to the International Criminal Court's exercise of jurisdiction over situations that concern nationals and territories of non-party States.

At a stage in its development when the workings of the International Criminal Court may be assessed, this timely volume provides valuable insights into its activities and, in particular, its interaction with national jurisdictions and international organizations. The contributors discuss a broad range of topics and present a 'first assessment' of complementarity. They address the issues at the heart of the substantive and procedural law of the Court and examine aspects relating to national implementation and international cooperation. These proceedings are the latest addition to the Trento Conference series, bringing together a wide range of leading scholars, diplomats and representatives of international organizations. As such, they provide an important contribution to the ongoing debate surrounding International Criminal Law and the International Criminal Court in particular. This thought-provoking study will be of value to researchers and policy makers alike.

The chapters in this book are reworkings of presentations given during a conference held in 2018 at the German Embassy to the Netherlands in The Hague on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute. They provide an in-depth analysis of major points of contention the International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently facing, such as, inter alia, head of state immunities, withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the exercise of jurisdiction vis-à-vis third-party nationals, the activation of the Court’s jurisdiction regarding the crime of aggression, as well as the relationship of the Court with both the Security Council and the African Union, all of which are issues that have a continued relevance and carry a particular controversy. The collection provides insights from both practitioners, including judges of the ICC, and diplomats who participated in the negotiations leading to the adoption of the Rome Statute, as well as well-known academics from various parts of the world working in the field of international criminal law. The aim of the book is not only to inform and stimulate academic debate on the topic, but also to serve as an instrument for lawyers involved in the practice of international criminal law. Gerhard Werle is Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Humboldt-University in Berlin, Germany and Andreas Zimmermann is Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Potsdam in Germany. Jürgen Bering, who worked on this book as assistant editor, is an Associate at Dentons, Berlin and a PhD candidate at the Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.

'State sovereignty' is often referred to as an obstacle to criminal justice for core international crimes by members of the international criminal justice movement. The exercise of State sovereignty is seen as a shield against effective implementation of such crimes. But it is sovereign States that create and become parties to international criminal law treaties and jurisdictions. They are the principal enforcers of criminal responsibility for international crimes, as reaffirmed by the complementarity principle on which the International Criminal Court (ICC) is based. Criminal justice for atrocities depends entirely on the ability of States to act. This volume revisits the relationship between State sovereignty and international criminal law along three main lines of inquiry. First, it considers the immunity of State officials from the exercise of foreign or international criminal jurisdiction. Secondly, with the closing down of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals, attention shifts to the exercise of national jurisdiction over core international crimes, making the scope of universal jurisdiction more relevant to perceptions of State sovereignty. Thirdly, could the amendments to the ICC Statute on the crime of aggression exacerbate tensions between the interests of State sovereignty and accountability? The book contains contributions by prominent international lawyers including Professor Christian Tomuschat, Judge Erkki Kourula, Judge LIU Daqun, Ambassador WANG Houli, Dr. ZHOU Lulu, Professor Claus Kre, Professor MA Chengyuan, Professor JIA Bingbing, Professor ZHU Lijiang and Mr. GUO Yang.