Resumen

CARDENAS ARAVENA, Claudia. Reason for not starting an investigation or for not commencing a judgement before the International Criminal Court. RDUCN [online]. 2011, vol.18, n.1, pp. 21-47. ISSN 0718-9753.  doi: 10.4067/S0718-97532011000100002.

The standard "interest of justice" is vital for the understanding of the (necessary) faculties of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court when selecting the cases for investigations which have been referred and cases to prosecute where it has been authorized to start an investigation. Although there are already several works on the subject matter, they have a common underlying where an understanding that the standard would apply in cases where the investigation of certain situations and the prosecution of certain cases would be inherently against the interest of justice. This interpretation creates several problems. An approach is proposed based on traditional criteria of interpretation of treaties, which interpretes the clause in comment as a form of safety mechanism in exceptional cases whose origin is rather contingent or external to the situation or case. It highlights how this understanding more consistent with the international legal system as a whole.

Palabras clave : Complementarity; interests of justice; International Criminal Court; prosecutor; opportunity.