This article seeks to conceptualize the relationship of the International Criminal Court to the events collectively known as the “Arab Spring.” It suggests that an impact of international criminal justice in this context cannot readily be assumed but that the Court has had more of a role than its limited interventions in the region suggest. The article focuses in particular on the work of international criminal justice in connection to the Arab Spring as resulting from the criss-crossing strategies of various actors. It analyzes some of its impacts on the dynamics of war and intervention, in distributing blame, in fighting impunity and on transitional justice more generally. The article concludes with a few thoughts on how the encounter with a macro-social event such as the “Arab Spring” shapes what can be expected of international criminal justice.

The Arab Spring was a period of great transition in the Middle East and North Africa, when people in many nations united in protest against their oppressive and tyrannical governments. In February 2011, the Libyan people filled their city streets in peaceful demonstrations against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. Attempting to quell the dissent, the Gaddafi regime allegedly engaged in a systematic campaign of violence against the dissidents. These attacks escalated into a full-fledged civil war, triggering United Nations intervention to protect civilians. In response to the Gaddafi regime’s attacks on civilians, the UN Security Council passed a resolution referring the alleged human rights abuses to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for prosecution. This Comment explores the effect of the warrant, the ICC’s complementary jurisdiction over the matter, and argues that both Libyan and ICC officials should be instrumental in trying the accused members of the Gaddafi regime.