How Leadership in International Criminal Law is Shifting from the U.S. To Europe and Asia: An Analysis of Spending on and Contributions to International Criminal Courts

Abstract

This article represents the first comprehensive attempt to understand how much the international community has spent on international criminal courts since 1993. It collects data on costs of and contributions to the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. The results are striking. The international community will have spent nearly $6.3 billion by the time that most of the existing international criminal courts have closed their doors at the end of 2015. Spending on international criminal courts peaked in 2009 at $560 million and will decrease for the foreseeable future. By the end of 2015, yearly spending on international criminal courts will drop to $167 million, a decline of nearly two-thirds.

One of the most significant findings is that leadership in funding for international criminal courts – and by extension leadership in international criminal justice – is shifting from the United States to Europe. The United States will have been the largest single contributor to international criminal courts in the period 1993-2015. However, U.S. contributions as a percentage of total contributions have been declining steadily since 2004. By 2015, the United States’ contribution will essentially be zero. The decline in U.S. spending is almost entirely being offset by increased spending by European states who will be contributing more than 60% of total funding for international criminal courts by 2015.

Keywords: International criminal courts, international tribunals, international criminal law, international criminal justice, ICC, ICTY, ICTR, SCSL, ECCC

JEL Classification: K33