The ICC: alone in Libya

Over on FP‘s Middle East Channel, Mark Kersten surveys the state of play between Libya and the International Criminal Court. At issue is where Moammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif Gaddafi, and the Gaddafi regime’s intelligence chief will face trial. The ICC has issued arrest warrants, but Libya’s new government insists it can handle the trials itself. ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Over on FP's Middle East Channel, Mark Kersten surveys the state of play between Libya and the International Criminal Court. At issue is where Moammar Gaddafi's son, Saif Gaddafi, and the Gaddafi regime's intelligence chief will face trial. The ICC has issued arrest warrants, but Libya's new government insists it can handle the trials itself. A panel of ICC judges is now considering Libya's claim. But Kersten sees (correctly, in my view) very limited willingness in the international community to stand up for the international court:

Over on FP‘s Middle East Channel, Mark Kersten surveys the state of play between Libya and the International Criminal Court. At issue is where Moammar Gaddafi’s son, Saif Gaddafi, and the Gaddafi regime’s intelligence chief will face trial. The ICC has issued arrest warrants, but Libya’s new government insists it can handle the trials itself. A panel of ICC judges is now considering Libya’s claim. But Kersten sees (correctly, in my view) very limited willingness in the international community to stand up for the international court:

Not only has there been no inclination amongst Libyan officials to transfer Saif or Senussi to The Hague, but the international community — particularly the U.N. Security Council — has shown virtually no interest in supporting the Court’s mandate in Libya. In short, very few international political actors with any influence have been willing to wield it in support of the Court. 

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

Tags: ICC, Libya

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