Relative Effects of Security Council‘s Competence in Request of Deferral of International Criminal Court proceedings

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study dealt with the implications of exercising the Security Council for its Competence to request deferring investigation or prosecution in front of the International Criminal Court based on the Article (16) of its statute. It was shown that Competence contributes to impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of punishment. It loses effectiveness of the principle of integration of Court Statute in the prosecution of criminals and their trial when the inability of the national justice or lack of desire to achieve it. The study also showed that the request for deferral has a clear impact in stopping the cooperation of states with the court, where they are liberated of their obligations to cooperate with the court and they are obliged to execute the Council's decision of request for the deferral based on the Article (103) of the Charter of the United Nations. The study presented that the request for the deferral prevents victims from obtaining their right to punish the perpetrators as well as their right to reparations and stops the trial of the accused for a period of (12) months renewable, which making his fate suspended for a long time, who may be under arrest, without the statute of court indicated his fate. More over, the statute of court did not regulate the matter of preservation of evidence during that period, by not granting of any party the authorization for the purpose of preserving them, which may lead them to the damage or theft.