The impact of cooperation on the rights of defendants before the International Criminal Court

The present study locates the challenges faced by defendants during cooperation proceedings in the context of the unique structural system of the Court, and the inherent tensions and limitations that characterize the ICC’s functioning.
The study is divided into two parts. The first part sets out the institutional and jurisdictional context in which cooperation plays out at the ICC. Chapter 2 addresses the ICC dependence on cooperation from an institutional, a political and a normative dimension, showing that compliance with requests for cooperation is ultimately tied to State political willingness and international political pressure; Chapter 3 delves into the connection between cooperation and the complementary jurisdiction of the Court, scrutinising the ‘positive approach’ to complementarity endorsed by the Prosecutor in order to enhance states cooperation. The second part of the study addresses the impact that cooperation occurring in the above-explained context has on the right to liberty of defendants and on equality of arms. Chapter 4 and 5 analyse the ICC’s law protecting the selected rights, as well as the practice regarding allegations of violations of these rights brought forward by some defendants. The research concludes that the specific context in which the Court operates influences the way in which cooperation proceedings play out in practice, with a negative impact on the right to liberty of defendants, and on their right to equality of arms with the Prosecution.