| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The International Criminal Court faces many daunting political challenges in Kenya, Libya and Sudan. It has addressed these challenges and defended its impartiality in these situations by insisting that it remains an apolitical institution. This article challenges the conventional focus on the ICC`s apolitical nature by adopting an alternative approach that examines its political and pragmatic role in seeking mutual accommodation. It argues that the ICC can and should seek mutual accommodation rather than simply justice under the Rome Statute. In doing so, the article develops and applies the term diplomatic efficacy, or the political capacity of the ICC to produce acceptable solutions, by addressing the soft power dimension of such efficacy. The ICCS`s diplomatic efficacy not only reflects its special role as an independent court or agent in the interstate system, but also represents a practical and strategic to manage the political problems that its interventions and deferral to national authorities may create. The article concludes that the ICC`s political efficacy can help to resolve the incongruities between proactive complementarity and the provisions of cooperation encoded in the Rome Statute
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