International Criminal Court Case Study

The United Nations aims to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” (UN Charter) by promoting international peace and security. Founded in 1945, the UN had 51 member states. Today there are 193 member states, yet the system remains unchanged. While disputes are tangible and concrete, conflicts are processes in which actors express dissatisfaction or disagreement with organizational structure (Constantino & Merchant 5). The intangibility of conflict makes it difficult to diagnose. Furthermore, resolutions to address the organizational structure will often leave parties dissatisfied. For these reasons, UN reform is challenging to execute. The UN has not improved its structure, lingering in a primarily Quadrant I system. The Security …show more content…
The International Criminal Court (ICC) also executes investigations in cases involving war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. This presents a structural dilemma as both the UN and the ICC investigate matters of international crime. These activities overlap, “creating conflict, wasted effort, and unintended redundancy” (Bolman & Deal 71). Furthermore, these activities generate information for their respective organizations that may not be shared with the other organization. Among conflicts featuring international crime, the two international organizations must cooperate to efficiently gather information. The ICC, an international tribunal, overlaps with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the UN. An alliance is necessary to allocate judicial powers between the organizations. For investigations featuring war crimes, genocide and crime against humanity, the two intergovernmental organizations will collaborate to deter overlap. Through restructuring a cooperation between the organizations, the ICC and the UN can achieve mutual political benefits (Roach