The Evolution of the ICC Jurisprudence on Admissibility

Abstract

The principle of complementarity lies at the heart of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Yet the principle, and the provisions on admissibility which implement it, were the subject of relatively little judicial consideration in the early years of the Court's operation. Recently, this has changed: between September 2008 and September 2009, three appeal judgments on admissibility were either delivered or unsealed. This chapter charts the evolution of the Court's jurisprudence on admissiblity: from the first applications for a warrant of arrest in 2005 through to the first challenge to admissibility in 2009 and resulting appeal judgment. It analyses the elements that have been settled regarding the legal test for admissibility; the factual basis on which this determination will be made; and the procedure for challenging or reviewing admissibility. The chapter concludes by considering what the jurisprudence tells us about the purpose, or purposes, of each aspect of the test for admissibility enshrined in Article 17 of the Rome Statute.

Keywords: International Criminal Court, article 17, complementarity, admissibility