The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent international criminal court established with an aim to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The first ten years of its functioning were affected by strong criticism and doubts about its capability to deliver effective and timely justice to the victims of these horrendous crimes and therefore contribute positively to the peace and reconciliation efforts in the affected regions. The first part of the lecture will focus on the main shortcomings of the ICC system as they became apparent in the first ten years of the Court’s functioning. The main premise of the lecture is that despite these shortcomings and limited efficiency, the Court remains the backbone of the commitment of the international community to the protection of human rights and ending impunity for international crimes. Arising from this, the second part of the lecture will look into the second decade of the Court’s functioning and will discuss some ideas on how to make the Court and the system of international criminal justice more efficient and effective in order to fulfil its mandate.
