The Relationship between International and National Courts in Prosecuting International Crimes: The Principle of Complementarity Perspective

For protection of human rights and deter the future crimes, criminal prosecution is only the one way. In this perspective, the establishment of the International Criminal Court is a great achievement in the field of international criminal law. However, the perception of the international scholars, the relationship between international criminal court and the national court is ambiguous. Complementarity nature of the ICC is considered as an enemy of state sovereignty in the eye of international criminal lawyers. Although the principle of complementarity put some challenges to state sovereignty, its supervisory element strengthen the implementation and empower international criminal law at national level where state sovereignty remains unaffected. This paper focuses some broader reflection on how the ICC, through its complementarity principle, is maintaining the relationship with national court and continuing its proceedings with the help of the national courts around the world. It will be agreed upon soon that, Complementarity principle not only helps states to uphold their common interest, but also prevent them from abusing their sovereignty and ensures individual and united security.