Conclusion

At the same time, the court has not been as effective as some may have hoped it would be. Its low conviction rate is used to indicate that the court has been unable to justify its expenditure. There is a need for reform, hence the recommendations herein, to make the court more effective in pursuing its objectives.

The paper has considered whether it would be apt to grant the ICC universal jurisdiction to act proprio motu. The findings reveal that while this would give the ICC a broader scope and freer rein, it may also lead to many states withdrawing from the Rome Statute, citing a threat to sovereignty. As such, the concept of sovereignty is a double-edged sword that can make the ICC weaker. A compromise situation would be to allow the state parties to try international crimes under their inherent universal jurisdiction with the support of the ICC and following the doctrine of complementarity.