EUROPEAN UNION AS A GLOBAL PLAYER IN ITS RELATIONS WITH THE INTER NATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Abstract

This article examines the role of the European Union as a global actor in its relations with the International Criminal Court (ICC), arguing that the EU has utilised its character as a distinct legal and political entity to gradually develop one of the most comprehensive institutional frameworks for cooperation with the ICC. Employing a combined legal and political analysis grounded in realpolitik, this article adopts a contextual and analytical approach to assess the role of the EU in relation to the ICC in contemporary international affairs, with the aim of situating the discussion within the broader scholarly discourse on the role of law in political processes. Particular emphasis is placed on the established institutional mechanisms that enable the EU to act as a global actor in its engagement with the ICC. The relationship between the EU and the ICC constitutes a matter of strategic importance for the EU, being fully consistent with the aims and principles of the United Nations Charter and conferring a degree of legitimacy that is not easily contested. In this context, the analysis encompasses the EU’s unique legal and political framework for cooperation with the ICC, as well as its principal objectives, namely: coordination of the activities of various EU institutions, bodies, and Member States, safeguarding the independence and effective functioning of the ICC, promoting the universality and integrity of the Rome Statute and implementing the principle of complementarity. The article further addresses the contested issue of immunities of high-ranking officials of States not parties to the Rome Statute and also provides a brief analysis of the immunity of EU officials, arguing that the EU, through its Cooperation Agreement with the ICC, has effectively conditioned the exercise of ICC jurisdiction over its officials and agents (and potentially other persons enjoying immunities under EU law and international law) on its internal decision-making processes.