Comparative Analysis of Prosecutor’s Authorities in International Criminal Court and Foundations of Judicial Idealism

The regulations and foundations of two prominent legal systems known as the common law and the statutory law constitute the principles and regulations of international criminal proceedings in general and the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s jurisdictions and authorities in particular. The transactional nature of the common law, the investigative nature of proceedings in the statutory law, and the simultaneous acceptance of both approaches in the International Court of Justice led to practical uncertainties and ambiguities regarding the International Court prosecutor’s jurisdictions and his/her interactions with tribunals, especially with pretrial branches. Nevertheless, this intrinsic contradiction appears to be largely consistent with the reality of international criminal proceedings, and the current legal principles are adequately efficient in reaching the International Criminal Court goals from a realistic perspective. This contradiction is highlighted when it is considered in judicial idealism. Hence, any ambiguities in authorities will cause injustice and violate the rights of victims or the human rights of defendants. As a result, there is still a substantial gap between the exertion of a prosecutor’s authorities and the principles of idealism.