Complementarity, Catalysts, Compliance

Since its establishment at the turn of the century, a central preoccupation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been to catalyse the pursuit of criminal accountability at the domestic level. Drawing on ten years of research, this book theorizes the ICC's principle of complementarity as a transnational site and adaptive strategy for realizing an array of ambitious governance goals. Through a grounded, inter-disciplinary approach, it illustrates how complementarity came to be framed as a 'catalyst for compliance' and its unexpected effects on the legal frameworks and institutions of three different ICC 'situation countries' in Africa: Uganda, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Linking complementarity's law and practice to contemporary debates in international law and relations, the book unsettles international law's dominant progressive narrative. It urges a critical rethinking of the ICC's politics and a reorientation towards international criminal justice as a project of global legal pluralism.

'De Vos' careful, rich, and well-informed study of the complementarity regime of the International Criminal Court shines by claiming neither too little nor too much. Illuminating how international justice interacts with national processes in three places, and how the first can catalyze the second, he concludes with a persuasive call to hopeful modesty about expectations.' Samuel Moyn, Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence and Professor of History, Yale University, 'Christian De Vos detoxes the ICC from its demons. He does so gently, respectfully, wisely, and firmly. He delivers the most sophisticated, insightful, and compelling assessment currently available about the ICC and its strained, awkward relationships with others. And, De Vos builds, too, beautifully, by charting a path forward. His book stands tall. It has soul. It flows with roll, pitch, and yaw: De Vos delivers a gleaming must-read.' Mark A. Drumbl, Class of 1975 Professor of Law, Director, Transnational Law Institute, Washington and Lee University, 'With an exquisite analysis of the ICC's catalytic impact in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, Complementarity, Catalysts, Compliance offers a brilliant analysis of the changes in complementarity as we know it. Christian De Vos' rethinking of its role in practice contributes a deeply insightful understanding of the transformation of international justice in the contemporary period. With breadth, depth and analytic innovation, this is a tour de force - a must read in international justice scholarship!' Kamari Clarke, Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, 'De Vos has written an exceptional book. Complementary, Catalysts, Compliance evinces a masterful use of interdisciplinary techniques to illuminate how the International Criminal Court - and the idea of the Court - have been constructed, thwarted, re-imagined and transformed, as well as the dynamic actors and political contexts that have shaped these processes. With unflinching honesty, the book tests the scholar's insights against richly researched and analyzed case studies; these, in turn, provide a rich seedbed for prescription. More than a brilliant intellectual account - though it is surely that - Complementary, Catalysts, Compliance offers valuable guidance for policy-makers and those who work on the front-lines of post-conflict justice.' Diane Orentlicher, Professor of International Law, American University, 'This erudite and insightful book explores a fundamental question: Can international criminal justice be truly global? Deftly exploring the International Criminal Court in light of its potential and parameters, its cases and constraints, De Vos illuminates the tensions a faraway court poses for the workings of rule of law on the ground. A must read for scholars and policy analysts alike.' Ruti Teitel, Ernst C. Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law, New York Law School

Christian M. De Vos is a senior advocacy officer with the Open Society Justice Initiative. He has worked as a human rights advocate, attorney, and researcher for organizations including Amnesty International, the United States Institute of Peace, the War Crimes Research Office, and Leiden University's Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies. He previously clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He has published in a number of leading academic journals and was a coeditor of the volume Contested Justice: The Politics and Practice of International Criminal Court Interventions (with Sara Kendall and Carsten Stahn, 2015). A graduate of American University, Washington College of Law (J.D.) and Leiden University (Ph.D.), De Vos is a member of the New York Bar and was a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.