Why has it proved so difficult to create an effective International Criminal Court - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages It took several meetings between the superior nations such as France, US, UK, China and the Soviet Union to finally agree on the membership terms, bodies and other arrangements that would be necessary to set up the UN, and ensure that it met its international security, social and economic goals. It was officially formed in 1945 with 50 member states and five nations being permanent members and holding the veto power. By 2007, it had 192 member states (Hanhimaki, 2008).
The terms and conditions initially set were to be later reviewed and maybe changed or revised, something that has never happened to date. Any decisions made on international security, economic development or social levels have to be approved by the nations holding the veto power first, directly or indirectly before being approved. This has led to power imbalance in the UN with other nations feeling sidelined and having no powers to disagree.
The existence and operation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is one of the issues being disagreed upon by member states. Disagreements surround charges taken to it and how it only handles cases from some states and not from others and especially those holding the veto power, leading to it lacking the impartiality necessary in a court of justice. Its operation therefore lacks consensus making it difficult to exist and perform its roles. The fact that the operation of the court from its inception seems to be controlled by a few members has brought about more questions than answers, and led to creation of issues of mistrust of the so called justice being sought in the court.
The ICC comes in to deal with crimes that the national courts cannot be able to handle. This is because of lack of ability of a country to address the heinous criminal acts or because of the lack of a government. The national court may also lack capacity to prosecute their own cases and especially those of higher magnitude because of lack of resources or the lack of ...Download file to see next pages Read More