By Marguerite Gagnon

Publié le 11 mars 2026

Justice is powerful, but not without limits. Judges evaluate the evidence to determine guilt and deliver sentences to ensure fairness. Court decisions apply to everyone and must be respected, whether it is an amount to pay or a sentence in prison. At the international level, the International Criminal Court (ICC), headquartered in The Hague, was established in 2002 to prosecute serious crimes such as genocide and war crimes (International Criminal Court, n. d.).This organisation duty is to bring justice when the national courts fail by conducting investigations, demanding arrests and prosecuting cases on an internation stage, although the ICC sometimes struggles to enforce its decisions, raising doubts about its true impact.  

Indeed, it seems as if the ICC is more symbolic than effective because it lacks enforcement power and a past in selective justice, however it does hold powerful leaders accountable when the national courts fail.

Although the court is known for having its decisions respected, the International Criminal Court does not possess absolute power. Indeed, the ICC cannot force the States to apply them. Everyone has their own laws and legal system, which means that there is no universal system. So, although certain actions are universally not allowed, each state does not necessarily have the same way of punishing. When the ICC tribunal gives its verdict, there is no international police force that could ensure that the sentence is respected.  

An interesting example is the case of Omar al-Bashir, a former president of Sudan. The ICC accused him of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Darfur. He had an international arrest warrant in 2009 and a second one in 2010. These cases are of great importance because they highlight the fact that the ICC wants to hold powerful leaders accountable and guilty for their actions. On the other hand, the culprit traveled around and several countries refused to arrest him, such as South Africa, Chad, Kenya, Djibouti (International Criminal Court, 2021). This situation weakens the credibility of ICC in the eyes of everyone.  

So, although the ICC can apply mandates, it depends on the international force to apply them. Also, out of more than 40 mandates at the beginning, several were not carried out in any way once again due to a lack of cooperation. So, without an execution mechanism, the court appears much more symbolic than dissuasive, due to the lack of power (Wong, 2019).

Justice must be an impartial domain. Decisions must be made impartially, and cases must always be analyzed by looking at both sides of the coin. On the other hand, Aaron Fichtelberg sees the ICC in a completely different way. Mr. Fichtelberg is a professor and researcher in international criminal justice at the University of Delaware, specializing in international law, legal philosophy and ethical issues of global justice (University of Delaware, s. d.).   

Indeed, he explains that the ICC does not judge all cases equally, although its task is to judge the most serious crimes. Several accuse it of selective justice, that is to prosecute the leader of certain countries but ignore others guilty of equally serious crimes, because they are from more “powerful” countries. Aaron Fichtelberg points out that most investigations raised by this institution are mainly directed to African countries. While countries like the United States, China or Russia are not bothered. 

Unsurprisingly, the United States has done everything to limit the power of the ICC. They adopted the 'Article 98 agreements, which is an agreement that prevents the ICC from prosecuting their soldiers or citizens abroad. They even passed a law, the American Servicemembers Protection Act, to prevent any US cooperation with the Court.  

The ICC is not, however, useless; it has proven itself, but it must deliver justice for all criminals, not just those who are easy to arrest (Fichtelberg, 2023). 

“The International Criminal Court was created to bring justice to the world’s worst war criminals (Ferragamo et Klobucista, 2025)”. Its task is therefore to act when the country does not necessarily have the capacity to settle certain cases. This shows the importance of this institution, which plays the role of last resort.  

The task of the ICC is mainly to manage matters related to genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crime of aggression. In short, the kind of crime that threatens world peace and fundamental rights. To do this, the ICC has the capacity to investigate and prosecute political or military leaders of any rank. The ICC is an opportunity for these people to be judged when they would not have been in their country. Also, its simple presence allows to remind that no matter the importance of someone, the ICC is there to render justice.  

This was the case, for example, with Thomas Lubanga who was found guilty of recruiting child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, most of which were served at The Hague, where the seat of the Court is located. Since his release in 2020, he has been living under surveillance in the Kisangani region. This case proves that the ICC is capable of delivering justice even if it can be more complicated (Ferragamo et Klobucista, 2025). 

Although it is still quite recent, the ICC has shown its strengths as well as its limits. Indeed, it sometimes has difficulty enforcing its decisions and judging all crimes fairly, but it remains essential for the enforcement of global justice. His weaknesses have affected his credibility but the cases where the culprits were sentenced prove his strength to intervene when the national courts are unable to do so.  

By holding important leaders accountable, the ICC contributes directly to sustainable development goal number 16, Peace, justice and effective institutions. The latter recalls the importance of having a solid system where justice reigns to be able to maintain peace in the long term. It is important to remember that nothing is perfect, not even the Court because, after all, it is led by humans (United Nations, n. d.).