Unintended Positive Complementarity: Why International Criminal Court Investigations May Increase Domestic Human Rights Prosecutions

American Journal of International Law, 2017, Forthcoming

71 Pages Posted: 24 Feb 2016 Last revised: 3 Feb 2017

See all articles by Geoff Dancy

Geoff Dancy

University of Toronto

Florencia Montal

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Department of Political Science

Date Written: October 30, 2015

Abstract

This article shows that International Criminal Court investigation in a country situation is correlated with increased domestic human rights prosecutions in the intermediate term. Using evidence from Africa, the article argues that this relationship results from a “willingness game” between ruling coalitions attempting to feign commitment to human rights norms and reformer coalitions, who use the onset of ICC investigations as an opportunity to engage in human rights litigation. This link between ICC investigation and domestic criminal prosecutions, unanticipated by Court employees and unexamined by scholars, is evidence that the ICC may have some surprising impacts.

Keywords: International Criminal Court, human rights, Africa, complementarity

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Suggested Citation

Dancy, Geoff and Montal, Florencia, Unintended Positive Complementarity: Why International Criminal Court Investigations May Increase Domestic Human Rights Prosecutions (October 30, 2015). American Journal of International Law, 2017, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2736519 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2736519

Geoff Dancy (Contact Author)

University of Toronto ( email )

105 St George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8
Canada

Florencia Montal

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Department of Political Science ( email )

1414 Social Sciences
267 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States

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