The ICC’s Principle of Complementarity in Practice

The complementarity principle lies at the heart of the Rome Statute. The role of the complementarity principle is to keep balance between the sovereignty of the States and the interest of international justice with the objective to end impunity. However, its practical applicability is not without dispute or debate. Therefore, it is apt to understand the concept of the complementary principle and its practical implications. This paper is an attempt to explore the said conceptual aspects of the principle of complementarity in ICC that have some bearing on its practice. Therefore, this paper primarily deals with three fundamental concerns namely, what is the concept of complementary principle in the ICC? How the notion of the complementary principle has been evolved or developed in literatures? And, what are its significant practical aspects that are already addressed or need to be addressed?