Gruppenproporz auf der internationalen Anklagebank

Oliver Diggelmann

This article deals with the relevance of group membership for decisions to examine and to accuse by international criminal tribunals. Due to the principle of individual responsibility, group membership officially is irrelevant for prosecutors. In reality, however, whether there is a «fair» ratio between examinations and accusations of the crimes of the involved groups influences the perception of the tribunal as a whole – whether it is perceived as legitimate or not. From a rule of law perspective, a bona !des problématique and inequality questions can be distinguished. As regards the former, the problem of the denial of relevance «against better knowledge» and the problem of a gap between what is officially declared and the reality are key topics. As regards inequality, unequal treatment resulting from the outcome of a conflict and – in the context of ICC proceedings – unequal treatment connected with the «trigger» mechanism can be distinguished. Denial of relevance of group membership – against factual, even though vague evidence – contributes to a perception of the tribunals as ambiguous. It is part of their perception as structurally fragile.