The ICC and State Sovereignty
The fundamental tension between international criminal justice and the sovereignty of states.
The Core Tension
The ICC represents a profound challenge to traditional state sovereignty. For centuries, the Westphalian system held that what a state did within its borders was its own business. The ICC says otherwise: there are certain acts so heinous that the international community has a right to prosecute their perpetrators regardless of national boundaries.
This tension is not abstract. When the ICC issues an arrest warrant for a sitting head of state, it directly contradicts the principle of sovereign immunity. When it investigates events within a country, it overrides the state's exclusive jurisdiction over its territory. When it requires states to surrender their nationals, it places international obligations above domestic authority. Every ICC case is, at some level, a contest between international justice and national sovereignty.