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Caravel Undergraduate Research Journal

Abstract

The International Criminal Court (ICC) formally came into force on July 1, 2002, becoming the only treaty-based permanent court to prosecute perpetrators of the most severe crimes. The court was founded primarily to prosecute perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity (CAH), and war crimes (with the addition of crimes of aggression in the summer of 2018) no matter the public stature of the individual accused. This was a major step by the international community in the global fight against impunity. In no case was this more clearly shown than in the court’s issuing of arrest warrants for the then sitting president of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, in 2009. The decision was met with criticism from many fronts, notably the assembly of African states, the African Union (AU), and its member states. Other criticisms vary from not taking enough action to taking too much action in other situations. This project first examines the actions that the court has taken and the language of the treaty itself to determine if there is bias present in the workings of the court toward sub-Saharan Africa. Secondarily, I will examine potential reform efforts and discuss their possible success and make suggestions for further research.

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