The Colombian Peace Process and the Principle of Complementarity of the International Criminal Court

Striking a balance between peace and justice has long been debated by scholars and practitioners. There has been definite progress in a world in which blanket amnesties were at times granted with little hesitation. There is a growing understanding that accountability has both pragmatic and principled arguments in its favor. Practical arguments as much as shifts in norms have created a situation in which the choice is increasingly seen as "which forms of accountability" rather than a stark one between peace and justice. The Colombian Justice and Peace Law 975 and its implementation offer an interesting and unique approach to dealing with the international crimes committed in Colombia's decades-long armed conflict. Yet, will this approach suffice with regard to Colombia's obligations under international law to investigate and prosecute international crimes? Does it meet the standards of the ICC, which has been monitoring the Colombian situation for some time now? In particular, does it pass the complementarity test laid out in the ICC statute or will the ICC have to intervene in Colombia to enforce international criminal law?

Practical and conceptual clority on the principle of complementarity

Application of the principle of complementarity to a concrete peace process

Insight into the Columbian Peace Process

Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Auteur
Kai Ambos, legal education at the universities of Freiburg, Oxford (UK) and Munich 1984 1990. First State Exam in Bavaria, 1990; Second State Exam in Baden-Wuerttemberg, 1994. LL.D. 1992 and Habilitation (Post-Doc) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, 2001 (venia legendi in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Criminology, Comparative Law and Public International Law). Former senior research fellow at the Max-Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law and senior research assistant at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Acting Professor in Freiburg, summer term 2002 and winter term 2002/2003, Calls to chairs from the universities of Göttingen and Graz. Since May 2003 Chair of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Comparative Law and International Criminal Law at the Georg-August-University Göttingen, Germany. Head of the Department of Foreign and International Criminal Law, Institute of Criminal Law and Justice at the University of Göttingen. Responsible for the Master Programs since April 2006. Judge at the District Court (Landgericht) of Lower Saxony in Göttingen since 24 March, 2006. Dean of Students of the Faculty of Law at the University of Göttingen between April 2008 and 2010.

Contenu
Law 975 and its process.- Preliminary Remarks.- The Process Under Law 975.- Intermediate Conclusions.- The complementarity test (Art. 17) and its application to the Colombian situation.- Preliminary Considerations: The Object of Reference of the Complementarity Test (SituationCaseConduct).- Gravity and Complementarity Stricto Sensu.- Conclusion: Classifying the Colombian Case with a View to Different Transitional Justice Scenarios.- Some Recommendations for the Further Application of Law 975.