Research Agenda

Over the past six years, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been active to develop its profile as a judicial institution. The Court is about to define its role and place in the landscape of international law and international institutions. One of the main challenges of its mandate is to reconcile judicial independence and operational interdependence.

Foundations of judicial independence 

To what extent do the classical rationales of judicial independence apply to the Court? Which lessons can be learned from different legal systems and legal traditions for the role and conception of judicial independence in the exercise of the Court’s mandate? To what extent is the legitimacy of the Court founded upon institutional and decisional independence?

Impact of judicial independence

How can the Court establish its nature as an independent and judicial institution? How much space is there for ‘judicial diplomacy’? To what extent is it possible to create credibility through strictly judicial behaviour? How can judicial behaviour contribute most effectively to deterrence and accountability? Towards what communities and constituencies should these efforts be geared? What experiences can be drawn from the practice of other international criminal tribunals? How can the effects of international criminal courts and tribunals be measured, and what can be done to enhance their impact?

Institutional accountability

To what extent should the Court be subject to political or other forms of control or oversight, without interfering with its judicial mandate or decisional independence? To what extent can such control or oversight be tied to efficiency or performance indicators? What factors should form part of this equation, and how can they be measured (e.g. quality of justice)? What instruments and channels exist to facilitate communication and dialogue between the Court and States on these matters, and how can they be improved? 

Judicial dialogue

How does the Court’s independence interrelate with existing sources of law and the jurisprudence of other courts and tribunals? To what extent does the Statute leave room for judicial dialogue, cross-fertilisation and openness towards other jurisdictions, and to what extent is such interaction of benefit to the work of the Court?

Impact of interdependence on the Court’s judicial mandate

What does interdependence mean for the exercise of the judicial mandate of the Court? Is it an asset or a weakness? To what extent does it encompass an incentive to be receptive to views and practices of domestic communities? How can it be meaningfully exercised without compromising judicial independence?

The ICC and State cooperation

What are the roles and responsibilities of different entities in the exercise of the Court’s judicial mandate? How can the effectiveness of the Court and the exercise of its judicial mandate be strengthened through cooperation with, by and among States? How can a maximum level of cooperation be achieved without interfering with judicial independence? 

The ICC and cooperation with international organisations

To what extent is there a need to refine the roles and modalities of cooperation between the Court and international organisations (e.g. disclosure, arrest and surrender)? How can the ICC and peacekeeping operations usefully complement each other? What can be done to strengthen the role of peacekeeping operations in the enforcement of international criminal justice?