Moving Towards an International Criminal Justice System

The terrible thing about terrorism is that ultimately it destroys those who practice it. Slowly but surely, as they try to extinguish life in others, the light within them dies. –Terry Waite (b. 1939) British religious adviser, hostage in Lebanon

The world we live in has become one ridden with crime and terrorism. With these events forever changing the lives of individuals throughout the world, the argument has been raised as to whether or not we should implement a true international criminal justice system. While doing so would open a lot of doors for the fight against terror, it could easily open doors for the loss of national sovereignty of those countries that chose to be involved. Many questions have been raised and many questions have yet to be answered.

The implementation of a true international criminal justice system would require a lot of thought, planning and training. Would laws in each country throughout the world have to be changed to suit one another? How much authority would this system actually possess? And how can the nations involve participate while still having a sense of individuality? None of these questions have a clear, easy answer. However, in time, we can hopefully strive to obtain true justice throughout the world.

With the terror threat at an all time high, government officials have to keep an open mind on ways to prevent future attacks and the process of prosecuting detained terror suspects. With the impact a terrorist attack like that of September 11, 2001 has on a country, allowing an impartial, international system of justice to prosecute and punish those responsible for the horrible tragedies that can result from only one act of terrorism must be considered. By prosecuting individuals in the countries where their attacks took place, we run the risk of not giving one a fair and impartial trial. When personal feelings are involved, especially those resulting from a horrific event such as 9/11, it is difficult to remain impartial and recognize Sixth Amendment rights.

Even with the implementation of an international justice system, countries would still need to have their own identity as to not lose sight of their own sovereignty or “the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region, group of people, or oneself” (Wikipedia). This raises the question as to whether this is actually possible. With many countries only recently obtaining their freedoms and the ability to run their country themselves after years of being controlled by a leader such as Saddam Hussein, is it fair to ask them to possibly give that right up? Not really. But for the greater good of the peaceful world we all wish to live in, it may very well be a necessity.

However, there are ways to implement an international system while still allowing the countries involved their individual freedoms. For example, with all the threats of terrorist attacks throughout the world, why not create an international system whose main goal is to oversee the investigation, arrest, prosecution and correction of those suspects while still allowing individual countries the right to prosecute criminals for smaller scale crimes, such as rapes or murders? Or even allowing the countries to prosecute their own crimes and having the international system as a last step for appeals, especially when federal laws are being questioned by the criminal? By doing one or both, we could achieve a worldwide justice system as well as an impartial legislation for ensuring that the rights of individuals in all parts of the world are being upheld.

Creating an international justice system is a process that would require much thought, recruiting and training. Potential employees should be required to go through extensive background checks as well as provide written recommendations from former employers. Another possibility would be to require potential employees to complete an exam similar to the National Competitive Examination used by the United Nations for all entry-level positions.

When hiring employees for an association that is responsible for obtaining justice throughout the world, many qualifications have to be considered. An international system would be one that deals with all countries and all languages spoken throughout the world. In order to assure proper operation, multi-lingual employees who spoke a number of different languages would be required, not only as interpreters but also as correctional officers and prosecutors. One method of obtaining this type of workplace is to have separate divisions responsible for overseeing a certain number of countries within a specific region.

To maintain a productive system of international justice, offices would need to be in various locations throughout the world. Main headquarters would need to be located in a large, major city like New York or London, with smaller, yet no less important, offices in smaller cities throughout individual countries, thus giving each country involved access to any information or assistance that may be needed. The police officers would have many of the same responsibilities as of INTERPOL officers. An officer with INTERPOL has the responsibility of facilitating police cooperation between borders and supporting and assisting organizations, authorities and services that are on a mission to prevent international crime, which is what an international criminal justice system would hope to accomplish.

A much more difficult role lies in that of the courts. Employees of the court system would have to be familiar with all aspects of individual country’s laws, therefore increasing the need for education and training. This also is another factor in determining the set-up of the system. Once again, it would be more beneficial to have separate divisions for groups of countries, thus increasing the amount of expertise individuals overseeing each nation would have and decreasing the chances of mistakes being made in regards to individual laws.

Another question raised is what authority this court would have. Currently, the International Criminal Court, established in 2002 and located in the Netherlands, only has jurisdiction over crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, thus leaving the prosecution of terrorist activity in the hands of the countries the activities affected. Again, this increases the possibility of an individual not receiving a fair trial. Also, the question of the death penalty has been raised. Many countries, including many in Europe, will not extradite an individual if they are facing the death penalty. Many criminals know this, and will take the opportunity to flee the United States before being caught. By having all nations operating under similar laws, we can ensure that individuals cannot escape the death penalty in cases that it is deemed fit punishment. However on the other hand, “the imposition of the death penalty on a convicted terrorist in a U.S. federal trial could transform the defendant into a martyr for their cause” (Scheffer, 2001). Considering the fact that these are individuals are more than willing to die for their cause, many times dying during the process of the attack such as the pilots of September 11, enforcing the death penalty is giving them exactly what they want instead of punishment-in their eyes making them spend their life in prison.

The correction system should be left in the hands of individual countries with the exception of serial murderers, those who have committed crimes against children and crimes involving terrorism, all of whom should then be monitored by employees of the international system and reprimanded to a facility that is located in the same city as the headquarters. There are many aspects of the correctional system including probation for minor offenses such as traffic violations. With the threat of terrorist activity at an all time high, minor offenses should continue to be the responsibility of the state and federal governments within individual nations to ensure protection for the greater good of the citizens of the world.

Is it possible to obtain an international justice system? In a nutshell, yes. In doing so, smaller countries would have opportunities that they had never thought possible. The fight against terrorism is one that could eventually be won if everyone would simply work together. However, that seems to only happen in a perfect world. One day, we may very well see the implementation of a true international criminal justice system. But until then, teamwork and compromise between nations for the good of their respective citizens can help our world prepare for that day.

References:

Waite, T., Retrieved July 4, 2006 from http://quotations.home.worldnet.att.net/terrorism.html

Wikipedia, Retrieved July 4, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_sovereignty

Employment Opportunities Within the United Nations, Retrieved July 5, 2006 from http://www.un.org/unfip/2004Website/employmentOpp.htm

INTERPOL, Retrieved July 5, 2006 from http://www.interpol.com/public/icpo/default.asp

International Criminal Court, Retrieved July 6, 2006 from
http://www.icc-cpi.int/about/ataglance/history.html

Scheffer, D. (2001) Options for Prosecuting International Terrorists, Retrieved July 6, 2006 from http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr78.html#Options