Complementary Views on Complementarity: Proceedings of the International Roundtable on the Complementary Nature of the International Criminal Court, Amsterdam 25/26 June 2004

One of the most fundamental precepts of the International Criminal Court is its complementary character. Complementarity defines the relationship between States and the Court. It denotes that cases are admissible before the International Criminal Court if a State remains wholly inactive or is unwilling or unable to investigate and prosecute genuinely crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court. Complementarity raises a myriad of questions, a discussion of which is widely held to stand central in understanding the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the system of international criminal justice it establishes.