The International Criminal Court: Lessons From Its First Thirteen Years On The Relationship Between Politics And Justice

The International Criminal Court is the first permanent tribunal designed to hold individuals criminally accountable for the most serious war crimes and human rights abuses.  When it became operational in 2002, it was welcomed by the human rights community as a deterrent to mass atrocity through the globalization of law and opposed by the Bush administration as a threat to its freedom of action to use force abroad.  Thirteen years later, neither the hopes of activists nor the fears of the US government have been realized, as ICC investigations have been limited to Africa, some of which have triggered a backlash from the African Union.  Professor Rodman will explain how the ICC’s dependence on voluntary cooperation of states to enforce its decisions has limited its ability to promote justice, referencing recent events, such as the dismissal of the case against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the suspension of the investigation in Darfur, and the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on torture.

Professor Ken Rodman is the William R. Cotter Distinguished Teaching Professor of Government at Colby College, where he has taught since 1989. Ken was the first Director of Colby’s interdisciplinary International (now Global) Studies Program and the Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights. He is the author of two books – Sanctity versus Sovereignty: The United States and the Nationalization of Natural Resources in the Third World (Columbia University Press, 1988) and Sanctions Beyond Borders: Multinational Corporations and Economic Statecraft (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001). His current research on international criminal justice and conflict resolution has been published in Ethics & International Affairs, Human Rights Quarterly, the Leiden Journal of International Law, the Journal of International Criminal Justice, International Criminal Law Review, Human Rights Review and the International Encyclopedia of Ethics.

He is the author of Sanctity versus Sovereignty: The United States and the Nationalization of Natural Resource Investments (1988) and Sanctions Beyond Borders: Multinational Corporations and U.S. Economic Statecraft (2001). His earlier work on economic sanctions has appeared in International Organization, Political Science Quarterly, and Ethics & International Affairs.

He is currently working on a project on the relationship between justice and negotiation strategies in international conflicts. He has spent the last year at the International Court of Criminal Justice in La Hague.

Lunch will be catered by Barrel's Market for $10 a person. Please pay at the door.  Lunch includes your choice of sandwich (chicken salad, egg salad, or hummus/veggie), soup, cookie, coffee or tea. Please register no later than Sunday, January 18, and please indicate your choice of sandwich.

Please note: Registrants who request lunch are responsible for lunch fees. If your plans change and you are unable to attend, please notify us so that lunch orders can be adjusted.

Presented by the Mid-Maine Global Forum.