Challenges of Non-Cooperation with the ICC and its Obstacles to State Withdrawing from the ICC Statute Membership (Case Study The South African State)

Membership and withdrawal from the ICC are subject of applicant state’s will. Member’s state’s obligation to cooperate with the ICC and to ignore its political relations with other states is one of reasons to withdraw from the ICC. However, withdrawal from the ICC membership is subject to formalities that its observance may detract from applicant’s state’s objectives. The South African state is an example of this situation, which has taken steps which has no precedent at the ICC level. Examining the theoretical dimensions of these measures are subject of this article. The research question is what are the challenges for the South Africa’s failure to cooperate with the ICC and its obstacles to withdrawing from the ICC Statute membership? The findings of this study show that the South Africa’s experience in citing mechanisms set forth in the Statute for non-cooperation and withdrawal from its membership without regard to their functioning and compliance with their requirements are self-centered and doomed to failure and void. This is an experience that exists under the same conditions in other member states of the ICC, and in order to avoid its consequences, the requirements of the ICC’s Statute must be observed.