| dc.description.abstract |
For over 40 years, one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world has ravaged Colombia, victimizing and displacing nearly a tenth of the population as armed paramilitary groups, guerillas, and the national military battle for territory and control. In an effort to end the conflict, the Colombian government claims it is implementing transitional justice by creating accountability and providing reparations for victims with the Justice and Peace Law. Yet, upon careful examination of the politics of justice in Colombia., it appears as though the passage of the Justice and Peace Law is merely an attempt to shield human rights abusers from criminal liability and evade ICC intervention. How the ICC interprets and evaluates the actions of Colombia will determine the application of complementarity and the future of international criminal law. This paper focuses on the need for an interpretation of complementarity, as found in Article 17 of the Rome Statute, and proposes a method of interpreting Article 17 that will reduce states’ exploitation of ambiguities in the Rome Statute. This paper argues that ICC involvement in Colombia will solidify the tenuous principle of complementarity and will provide a much needed guiding principle to the emerging intersection of domestic and international laws. By using Colombia as an example of a state genuinely unwilling to prosecute, the ICC will not only provide justice to Colombians, but it will also reduce the likelihood of mimicry from other states inclined to follow in the footsteps of Colombia’s impunity if it is allowed to succeed. |
