As Lubanga Trial Begins, Goldston Cites International Criminal Court Progress

NEW YORK—In a new op-ed, Open Society Justice Initiative executive director James A. Goldston praises progress made at the International Criminal Court and argues that the "new system of international justice is working."

The op-ed, "World Justice on Trial," published by Project Syndicate on January 21, 2009, is available on the Justice Initiative website and has been printed in newspapers as disparate as the Daily Times (Pakistan) and the Guatemala Times.

Goldston notes this week's opening of the International Criminal Court's first trial (against former Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo) and the court's consideration of an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and writes: "Five years after the world's first permanent criminal tribunal commenced operations, it has made its mark."

Goldston also rebuts three common criticisms of the International Criminal Court: that the court's involvement in ongoing conflicts impedes the peace process, that the court has allowed itself to be used by national political leaders, and that the court is focused too much on prosecutions in Africa.