THE mechanism of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is as tricky as international law. There is no agency or system to enforce ICC’s decisions. Therefore when the ICC had given a go-ahead to its prosecutors to investigate alleged war crimes in Afghanistan by the United States and other actors in March last year, Donald Trump, who was president at the time, imposed sanctions on ICC officials involved in those investigations.

It was not a smart move by the Trump administration, like many others in that tenure. It shook the confidence and belief of people in the international criminal justice system.

Nevertheless, the ICC remains one of the most important global bodies and is the last hope in the international criminal justice system.

Now the question is: will the Biden administration give respect to the ICC and allow investigations in that matter? If it does, the decision will be an enormous boost to the international criminal justice system.

Moreover, the ICC without an enforcement agency seems to be a toothless institution. Therefore, there is a need for a proper mechanism for the enforcement of ICC decisions with the consensus of the international community.

Sumail Hussain
Larkana

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2021