Reforming the ICC
Current reform proposals and the future direction of international criminal justice.
The Reform Agenda
The ICC faces calls for reform from multiple directions. The 2020 Independent Expert Review identified organizational dysfunction, insufficient investigation quality, and the need for strategic prioritization. Internal reforms include strengthening the OTP's investigative capacity, improving case selection, reducing trial length, and addressing workplace culture issues.
External reform proposals are more ambitious. Expanding the ICC's jurisdiction to cover terrorism, drug trafficking, or environmental crimes has been discussed but faces the same political obstacles that made the Rome Statute negotiations so difficult. Universal jurisdiction, where the ICC could prosecute regardless of territory or nationality, would eliminate the membership gap but would never be accepted by non-member states. Some propose conditional complementarity, where states must demonstrate judicial capacity to retain the benefit of complementarity.