The International Criminal Court is many things to many people: It is the apotheosis of cosmopolitan justice-seeking. It is a threat to sovereignty and to peacekeeping. It is the only major international institution to be created since the Cold War ended, or an expensive bandage to apply after atrocities have been committed. It is a remedy for realpolitick. It is a tool of empire.

Despite the many possible interpretations one thing is certain—the International Criminal Court is an important topic in global politics. This blog will serve as one site for dialogue about the ICC, and related issues of transitional justice, international law and politics, post-conflict reconstruction, and transnational civil society.

To facilitate this dialogue, three doctoral students from the University of British Columbia – Adam Bower, Asad Kiyani, and Chris Tenove — will be soliciting contributions from other academics and practitioners, and posting their own analysis and reportage. They will also be adding posts from readers. That means you! If you have a substantive addition to make to the debate, please add a comment to an existing post or email a post to Chris, Adam and Asad.

There is no better time for dialogue on the ICC than now. Between 31 May and 11 June 2010, the ICC Review Conference will be held in Kampala Uganda. Adam and Chris will be there, along with diplomats and legal advisers from over 110 states, and over 1000 civil society representatives. The Review Conference constitutes an important milestone in the development of the ICC, as it provides the first opportunity for States Parties to amend the Rome Statute since its creation in 1998. To that end, delegates will be considering a number of substantive proposals—including, most controversially, whether to include the crime of aggression within the jurisdiction of the Court—as well as engaging in a broader “stock-taking” of the Court’s progress in its first eight years in existence. The decisions reached at Kampala will thus have a profound effect on the trajectory of the Court going forward.

We look forward to hearing from you!