Is the International Criminal Court fit for purpose?
Ex-president of the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, acquitted by the ICC after seven years in jail
![wd-laurent_gbagbo_-_issouf_sanogoafpgetty_images.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YMG7xp8UkDiumqHDBpgFLL-415-80.jpg)
The ex-president of the Ivory Coast has been acquitted of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, raising further questions about the credibility and effectiveness of the Hague-based institution.
Laurent Gbagbo, who was charged in connection with violence following a disputed 2010 election that left 3,000 dead and 500,000 displaced, was the first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.
The five-month stand-off between supporters of Gbagbo and his rival, Alassane Ouattara, saw some of the most brutal clashes in the country's history, and only came to an end after French-backed forces stormed the presidential palace.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Yet despite claims by the prosecution that Gbagbo had used “all means” to cling to power, judges ruled they had failed to demonstrate “the existence of a 'common plan' to keep Gbagbo in power” which included crimes against civilians, or a “policy to attack a civilian population”.
After spending seven years in prison, “Gbagbo will follow in the footsteps of his wife Simone Gbagbo, who walked away from a 20-year jail term in Ivory Coast in August when she was granted amnesty by Ouattara after seven years in prison”, reports Al Jazeera.
Inside the court, the public gallery erupted in loud cheers, while outside supporters of Gbagbo gathered with champagne. In Ivory Coast’s economic capital, Abidjan, shirtless men ran through the streets toasting the former president.
But victims of the civil war who had testified against him were devastated, with some worried about reprisals and others considering leaving the country. Human rights organisations described the ruling as “disastrous”.
Gbagbo’s acquittal has raised serious questions about the ICC, which has failed in its attempt to build successful cases against former DR Congo Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba, and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Since it came into being in 2002, ICC prosecutors have won only three war crimes convictions.
“Whenever a case involving mass atrocities essentially collapses at the ICC, it does damage to the perception of the court as a credible and effective institution of international justice,” Mark Kersten, author of Justice in Conflict, told the BBC.
“Many are concerned that the court is emerging as an institution where only rebels can be successfully prosecuted,” he said.
The Guardian says the 17-year-old ICC “has long been criticised for disproportionately going after Africans”, although the current prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian, has worked to change that, opening investigations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and the Ukraine.
The New York Times says “some analysts have criticised the overall approach of the court — a faraway entity that targets leaders and works largely through intermediaries who fail to gain the trust of locals”.
“On the other hand, the ruling demonstrates the judges' independence and impartiality and makes it harder to push the narrative, popular among those who fear the long arm of the ICC, that the court is a biased weapon of neo-colonial justice used purely to convict African leaders,” the BBC’s Anna Holligan says.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The manosphere: the shady online network of masculinists
The Explainer A new police report said a rise in radicalised young men is contributing to an increase in violence against women and girls
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
How can we fix tourism?
Today's Big Question Local protests over negative impact of ever-rising visitor numbers could change how we travel forever
By The Week UK Published
-
Simone Biles: Rising – an 'elegantly paced and vulnerable' portrait of the gymnast
The Week Recommends Netflix's four-part documentary is more than a 'riveting comeback story'
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Iwao Hakamada: Japan's record-breaking death row prisoner
Under the Radar Former boxer spent 46 years condemned to execution but his retrial could clear his name
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How strawberries are funding crime in Sweden
Under the Radar Police say illegal fruit sales turn over 'billions' of kronor a year for gangsters
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
France's 'swinger' capital rocked by fortune teller scandal
Under the Radar Mayor charged with corruption for 'lavishing' taxpayers' money on clairvoyant who 'impersonated' his dead father
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Trump hush money trial: what has the jury heard?
Today's Big Question Former loyal fixer Michael Cohen proves star witness for prosecution, but Stormy Daniels's graphic testimony could offer grounds for appeal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Weinstein's appeal: a blow to #MeToo
Talking Point Is 'shocking' reversal of symbolic conviction a sign of weakening movement?
By The Week UK Published
-
Do youth curfews work?
Today's big question Banning unaccompanied children from towns and cities is popular with some voters but is contentious politically
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Sydney mall attacker may have targeted women
Speed Read Police commissioner says gender of victims is 'area of interest' to investigators
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why are kidnappings in Nigeria on the rise again?
Today's Big Question Hundreds of children and displaced people are missing as kidnap-for-ransom 'bandits' return
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published