Whither the International Criminal Court?

... in what has often been called ‘ the shadow of the Court ’ effect. According to this line of reasoning, properly enforcing international criminal law would provide a clear line in the sand, and potential wrongdoers would then know that unlawful acts have legal consequences. Nine out of ten active investigations of the ICC happen to be in Africa, and it is there that the Court has been most active. Thirdly, it has been suggested that indictments and stigmatization of criminals would cause them to lose international and local support, marginalize them, and push towards compromise. Lastly,...