by Teodora Kobaš
Oct 15, 2023
Today, we are diving into a thought-provoking question that often buzzes around the world of international affairs: Does the court (the court of the MICC) matter if no one trusts them? It’s a significant question that warrants exploration and discussion.
The International Criminal Court is a permanent international court established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. Its mission is to ensure accountability and justice on a global scale but recent events has raised concerns about its effectiveness.
Firstly with an accusations for favoritism coming from a “Very serious news” on a social platform mastodon, saying: “We already know that the Judges for the Bikindi case are biased. A reliable source has let me know that they have private investments in Rwanda. THE SHAME.”
The famous American singer and songwriter who has millions of followers on social media Millie Beilish shared her thoughts on the current accusations. The singer and songwriter has been known to be siding with the Bikindi claiming that there is nothing bad with playing songs that spreads hatred and violence, saying it is all art.
“Hey Bikindi judges come clean and tell the truth. Be honest! The MICC means nothing, because we do not trust you!” Millie shared on mastodon.
With such accusations people are starting to question the credibility of the court.
However these are all just words without evidence, which brings the accused in a situation to respond clearly so in a response to the influence of a famous singer and suspicion of the public the court responded with a clear statement coming from the judges, prosecutors and defendants.
“We are not corrupt, we do not have any investments in Rwanda, there is no money to be lost. We are just doing our job and no matter what other people think, the truth will be revealed and we have no motives besides bringing justice to people,” said the judges.
“Court should be unbiased and should strike for justice so public opinion of course, is important but trying to find justice is more important,” added the prosecution.
The defense said: “There is no other institution to trust expect for court. There is no other choice but to trust the court.”
Exploring this case together we have come to the point: the courts can’t be trusted all the time. When writing this, I am not thinking that every judge, every prosecutor and every defendant is the same, biased and corrupted, but those things are happening daily. There is a lack of punishment for those who deserved it and the reason for that is money and power. Money is a weak point to most of the people.
On the other hand, those who hold the most of the power and government put a lot of pressure on the court and from a transparent and independent court it turns out to be one of the government’s puppets.
It isn’t enough to say “we are not corrupt”. MICC (and the ICC!) should do a better job at convincing us that they serve justice.