Prosecute Little Fish at the ICC

Abstract

Abstract A central aim of international criminal tribunals since Nuremberg has been to prosecute those most responsible, the ‘big fish’, leaving smaller cases to national jurisdictions. The authors, who have both academic backgrounds as well as experience prosecuting international crimes in both international and domestic courts, argue that the International Criminal Court (ICC) should change course and expand its focus to include more ‘little fish cases’, bringing more cases overall and initiating them more quickly. Particular features of the ICC, namely its global reach and its ambition to promote national prosecutions, compel this change in strategy. For normative, strategic, and practical reasons, the ICC should bring smaller fish cases to enhance its credibility, functioning, and legitimacy, and to spur prosecutions by national authorities.