Description
Preliminary examinations are one of the most powerful policy instruments that can be used by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and often their impact exceeds the one caused by actual indictments. The opening of a preliminary examination often has a spill-over effect, enabling the ICC to stigmatize certain violations and engage in dialogue with States to ensure accountability. Recently, the ICC concluded its preliminary examination of the situation in Colombia, the longest to date. Since the beginning, the Prosecutor maintained a permanent evaluation of the situation gathering information about alleged crimes, supervising legislative developments and shaping the public discourse on the local transitional justice system. This paper argues that there is much to be learned from the interaction between the ICC and the Colombian domestic authorities. The main argument focuses on how the ICC strongly have influenced the public discourse on accountability, looking at the court’s symbolic power and dialogical interactions with the national authorities.
