The International Criminal Court: The Hague

Housed in a former corporate office building, the ICC rises proudly above its inconsequential surrounding neighbourhood. After an extensive airport-like security process, one is welcomed into a welcome area housed in the former carpark. State party names adorn the walls while educational brochures line the counters.

A quick briefing and introduction to the goals and processes of the ICC was given by two resident international lawyers, a French lady and an Australian lady, both quite attractive (perhaps only partly due to their intellect), just like myself and my accompanying French classmate Samuel - the French lady bringing her elegant, demure style while the Australian lady was outwardly brash with confidence and humour. The presentation replicated exactly the material from my International Humanitarian Law lecture at Leiden University regarding enforcement of IHL. In a nutshell: the ICC is created by the Rome Statute. Its aim is to end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious international crimes. It abides by the principle of complementarity, which means the Court only takes action if a state party in unwilling or unable to do so.

During the short and hence superficial Q&A session that inevitably follows such cursory introductory talks, a chauvinistic American tourist chauvanistically asked : "What would it mean to the ICC if the US ratified the Rome Treaty, and thus be a party to the International Criminal Court?"

"Well I can't say... but in my experience, the US has been a poor contributor to these sort of things", the sassy French lawyer sassily replied. Haha, classic.

We were then invited to climb the stairs to the courtroom upstairs for a public viewing. This was much smaller, thinner and modest than expected. The various participants in the trial all allocated a location squashed into this thin room. In the middle was a private curtained area where former child soldiers (some of whom are still children today) and other vulnerable people could testify without fear of having their identity revealed and retribution.

Five minutes into the session, as I started to get the gist of what was going on, the barrister for the Prosecution asked for a closed court, which was granted, and the whole five rows of visitors were herded back out again.

To exit the building through the ceiling-to-floor turnstiles, another person had to hold the red exit button which was located on the inside of the building. Hence, coming to mind was the image of the last remaining worker having to sleep in the courtroom each night, as there would be no one to hold this red buttom for him; and the judges at the end of each day rushing to the exit so as not to be the last person trapped overnight!