A Progressive Interpretation of The Doctrine of Sovereignty

An Elixir to the Enforcement of Article 27 of the Rome Statute

Abstract

The final Diplomatic Conference in Rome witnessed sovereign States who sought for a statute that would specifically accommodate their own particular domestic constitutions. They rather ended up creating an international justice system that is sui generis in nature carrying the imprimatur of many legal systems but closely resembling none and yet very involving. Without assurances of express or implied exclusion of potential constitutional issues, the overwhelming majority of States that participated in the Rome Conference consciously voted in favor of the Statute with all its implications. Eventually, this Treaty established the International Criminal Court (ICC) and re-echoed the Nuremberg dogma of individual criminal responsibility under its article 27.  The whole of the Rome Statute was entirely an act of sovereignty, but history has clearly shown that article 27 of the Statute, though elegant to sustain responsible governance, yet, for sovereignty, it is a walk in the dark. Hence, criminal accountability of sovereigns for international crimes has consistently remained an uphill task, indeed a nightmare in a broad daylight. The question is can sovereignty be made accountable for its crime. This study aims at a progressive interpretation of the doctrine of sovereignty and its immunity clauses as a panacea to the enforcement of Article 27 of the Rome Statue. The objective is to highlight effect of the doctrine of sovereignty on article 27 of the Statute and discuss the need to enhance global responsible sovereignty. The study adopts doctrinal designs using analytical approach with reliance made on Statutes, case law, law reviews and data in web-based sources all subjected to content analysis. The research found that without a progressive interpretation of the doctrine of sovereignty in line with Article 27 of the Rome Statute, enforcement of individual criminal responsibility of sitting sovereigns will remain an uphill task.