The Role of the International Criminal Court in Achieving Justice: A Comparative Study between the Palestinian and Ukrainian Cases رسالة ماجستير

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the political factors affecting the legal investigation procedures in the ICC, and to address the Ukrainian and Palestinian cases in the ICC to determine the considerations on which the court relies in its procedures and decisions regarding the two cases. The research problem was to analyze the role of the ICC in the two cases by comparing them in terms of the factors and considerations affecting the court's performance towards them. The importance of the study lies in providing a comprehensive and comparative analysis of the challenges and factors affecting the two cases addressed in the study and highlighting the impact of these factors on international peace and security. The researcher relied on the descriptive and analytical approaches to reach the results of the study, the most important of which was that there are indeed political factors affecting the performance of the court and its legal procedures in light of American hegemony and the prevailing unipolar system in the world, and that the court shows clear double standards in dealing with the Palestinian and Ukrainian cases in terms of the time period taken to respond to the two cases and the American influence supporting its work in Ukraine and opposing it in Palestine, and in terms of the comprehensiveness of the arrest warrants issued against criminals for the crimes committed. Indeed, the researcher recommended the necessity of enhancing the transparency of the Court’s work by publishing periodic reports explaining the nature of its decisions and explaining its decision-making mechanisms, and the necessity of pressuring non-member states of the Court to join the Rome Statute, especially the USA and Russia, and enacting laws that would enhance the Court’s independence from international powers.