Why does the International Court of Justice take precedence over the International Criminal Court?
Author: Talib Aliyev, analyst, especially for “Sangar”
The Chairman of the Justice Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (Parliament) said in August 2024 that Ankara had applied with the International International Court of Justice (ICJ) to join the lawsuit against Israel over the fighting in the Gaza Strip. In addition to Turkey, this lawsuit against Israel was supported by Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Spain, and Palestine. It seems that a lawsuit against Benjamin Netanyahu has already been filed in an international court, but it was a different court. Therefore, let's deal with this in order.
There is the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is the staff and main judicial body of the United Nations. The UN Charter established it, considers disputes between states, and is located in The Hague (Netherlands).
Everything seems simple and clear. But some confusion often arises, since in the same city of The Hague the International Criminal Court (ICC) is located, which is not part of the UN structure and is an incomprehensible entity with a very controversial legal status and vague legal grounds for the implementation of its functions in the field of criminal justice.
However, the ICC does not consider disputes between states, but only cases involving individuals. That is, if the UN International Court of Justice makes a decision, it will affect the activities of the entire state, regardless of who controls it. But if, for example, the ICC rules against Benjamin Netanyahu, then if he is replaced by another leader, Israel will have the right to continue to act in the same way as under Benjamin Netanyahu.
This example clearly shows the difference between two judicial bodies that have similar names and are even located in the same city. But why was this done and what goals are being pursued?
If everything is clear with the International Court of Justice, then the International Criminal Court operates on the principle that "whoever pays, orders the music". The ICC is supported by contributions from member countries. There are two sources of funding in the funding scheme. The first is the budget of the court itself, and the second is the so-called trust fund for victims, from which, in theory, compensation for damage to the injured party should be made.
In fact, the ICC is riddled with corruption, and member states act as customers of its investigations, during which, on tips from sponsors and flimsy pretexts, selective and politically motivated criminal prosecutions of undesirable individuals are initiated.
This point of view is shared even by representatives of Western elites. In particular, former US President Donald Trump, during his speech at the UN General Assembly in 2018, said that the ICC has “neither jurisdiction, nor legitimacy, nor authority.” A similar opinion is shared by former US National Security Adviser John Bolton, who called the ICC a “stillborn and illegitimate institution.” US Attorney General William Barr publicly spoke about large-scale corruption in the ICC system. In addition, a group of experts from the Leiden University of the Netherlands, in their scientific research, concluded that the legal personality of this judicial body is controversial.
By the way, during the election campaign in the United States, Democrats led by Joe Biden actively used the ICC to attract votes from the Muslim community in the United States. This is explained by the refusal of Muslim Americans to vote for Biden because of his support for Israel in the confrontation with Hamas. To bring down such protest potential, Democratic leaders, through ICC employees under their control, initiated a criminal investigation against the Israeli leadership for committing criminal offenses in the Gaza Strip.
Thus, on May 20, 2024, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan applied for the issuance of warrants for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant. But the move was miscalculated by the Republicans, who also used their people at the ICC to block the issuance of arrest warrants to Israel's leadership. As a result, on June 27, 2024, the ICC suspended the final decision on this issue.
The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court are completely different organizations. Turkey’s actions with other countries that filed a claim with the UN ICJ can lead to real results and the establishment of a just peace, although not as quickly as we would like.