The "Fact" daily writes:
Over time, the international community has created various mechanisms to solve various problems, create formats for cooperation, and regulate the behavior of entities operating in international relations.
It is true that large players leverage international law and mechanisms created within international structures, but these same mechanisms can also be used by small states.
And it is very important what international instruments are put into operation, since some branches of the implementation of international mechanisms can have a dual meaning - in one case they can be used very effectively, and in another - not.
At the same time, it is impossible not to take into account what kind of response the application of these mechanisms may also find from other international entities. This especially applies to the mechanisms of international justice, in particular the International Criminal Court. The peculiarity of the latter is that it is the first permanent court that has the ability to try individuals for international crimes.
And this creates a mechanism through which dictators, war criminals, or other international criminals can face justice.
The court has a number of successful cases, especially in the administration of justice against some African war criminals, which show that the court is capable of bringing powerful individuals to justice. But on the other hand, there are also failed attempts.
When the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2015, a number of countries that were members of the court refused to arrest him, even while he was on their territory.
In other words, the court depends on the political will of member states, since it does not have its own law enforcement agencies to arrest defendants.
On the other hand, the work of the court is becoming ineffective due to the fact that the superpowers - the USA, China, Russia - do not recognize the jurisdiction of the court. However, the failed attempts at the work of the court do not mean that the mechanism of international justice cannot function effectively in some cases.
This was the reason why in 2023, a decision was made in Armenia to join the statute of the International Criminal Court, the Rome Statute.
And the Armenian authorities, led by Pashinyan, declared that the Rome Statute should be fully ratified, since crimes have been committed against Armenia, and this opens up the opportunity to hold Azerbaijan accountable.
In other words, by joining the Rome Statute, Armenia can file lawsuits against Azerbaijan for specific international crimes. But the surprising thing is that so far Armenia has not filed any lawsuits with the International Criminal Court.
It is completely incomprehensible why Armenia has not filed a single lawsuit in these two years, when the facts about the crimes committed by Azerbaijan are simply outrageous.
However, the most ridiculous thing is that Pashinyan suddenly declares that when real peace is achieved, Armenia is ready to abandon lawsuits against Azerbaijan in international instances.
First, if Armenia abandons the lawsuits, we will be dealing not only with another concession made to Baku, but with the vicious phenomenon of concealing the crime, which is also a crime.
On the other hand, it is incomprehensible why Armenia should abandon lawsuits, when not only are representatives of the military-political leadership of Artsakh being held captive in Baku, but also trumped-up charges have been filed against these people and a court process has begun, which is turning into a show.
Or, if Armenia had to express its willingness to abandon its claims against Azerbaijan in international courts, then what purpose did the ratification of the Rome Statute serve? It seems that it was another ill-considered step by the Armenian authorities?
After all, as a result of joining the International Criminal Court, significant tension has been introduced into Armenian-Russian relations. On the other hand, when there is a question of cutting off Israeli support for Azerbaijan, new problems arise in Armenian-Israeli relations.
Not to mention that the new US administration has also adopted a very tough stance towards the International Criminal Court, and Trump has even imposed sanctions.
ARSEN SAHAKYAN
