International criminal justice in the Asia-Pacific region : the role of the International Criminal Court regime

Even as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) continues to gain increasing acceptance worldwide, the number of states parties within the Asia-Pacific region remains relatively low when compared to Europe, Africa and the Americas. Although the position may be slowly changing, it seems that the broadly positive global viewpoint of the ICC has not thus far been widely embraced in the Asia-Pacific region, at least as far as active participation as a state party is concerned. This article discusses a number of possible reasons for this general lack of regional enthusiasm for the ICC, particularly in the relatively early years of its existence. However, it goes on to argue that there are tangible benefits for countries in the Asia-Pacific region to embrace the Court and become an active state party to the ICC Statute, both in terms of encouraging the increasingly important role played by regional countries in the ongoing development of international law, but also in relation to the greater formalization and recognition of human rights, as well as of international justice and accountability for those responsible for the commission of international crimes.