2009 Articles

Trigger Mechanisms of the International Criminal Court

De Swardt, Timothy

"Given the low benefits and high costs signatories of the Rome Statue face in bringing cases to the Court—primarily as a result of the powers granted to the independent prosecutor—this paper seeks to understand the context in which states decide to use the embryonic “trigger mechanisms” of the ICC and the pronouncement’s effect on the rapidly evolving norms of international criminal law. This paper first asks what interest states had in supporting these trigger mechanisms, particularly in light of the independent prosecutor’s unchecked, powerful mandate of authority in the legal process. Second, it inquires how those states articulated and realized their preferences over those of other states."--from page 118