Negotiating an Institution for the Twenty-First Century: Multilateral Diplomacy and the International Criminal Court‪.‬

The authors review the decades of discussion and years of negotiation that led to the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998. By placing the creation of the International Criminal Court in its historical context, they emphasize the significance of the statute and the Court for international law. The lecture discusses various provisions of the statute, highlighting controversial aspects such as the jurisdiction of the Court and the crime of aggression. The statute reflects the compromises struck throughout the negotiations, compromises that are a necessary part of multilateral diplomacy. Though it was not possible to reconcile fully the concerns of all states, the authors point out that the statute achieves an important balance that allows for widespread support from the international community while establishing an institution that has the power to punish those responsible for the most serious crimes in international law. That this balance is a success is, in the authors' view, reflected in the ever-growing levels of support for the Court. They detail the challenges faced by the Preparatory Commission in transforming the Court from a statutory model to a working judicial institution. Finally, the authors examine the positive impact that ratification and implementation of the statute is having on reform of domestic laws criminalizing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Les auteurs passent en revue les decennies de discussions et les annees de negociations ayant mene a l'adoption du Statut de la cour penale internationale en 1998. En situant la creation de la Cour darts son contexte historique, ils soulignent son importance pour le droit international avant d'aborder certains des aspects les plus controverses du Statut, tels la competence de la Cour et la definition du crime d'agression. Bien que le Statut reflete des compromis inevitables dans le cadre de negociations multilaterales, et qu'il fut impossible de concilier completement les inquietudes de toutes les parties, le Statut constitue un instrument equilibre qui s'est attire un large appui parma la communaute internationale tout en etablissant une institution ayant le pouvoir de punir les responsables des violations les plus graves du droit international. Les auteurs font ensuite etat des defis pratiques auxquels a du faire face la Commission preparatoire pour transformer le modele tire du Statut en une institution judiciaire en etat de fonctionnement. Finalement, ils examinent l'impact positif de la ratification et de la mise en application du Statut sur les reformes des lois nationales criminalisant le genocide, les crimes contre l'humanite et les crimes de guerre.