In an interview with The Korea Herald, Christoph Safferling, an expert in international criminal law, urged Germany and South Korea to continue supporting the International Criminal Court amid renewed US skepticism.

“The US has been skeptical toward a permanent international criminal court from the very beginning,” Safferling noted.

“Sometimes the US administration has been more cooperative, sometimes it has been openly hostile. We are now again in a phase in which the US administration imposes sanctions against members of the ICC, the prosecutor in particular,” Safferling told The Korea Herald.

But he urged key ICC member states such as Germany and South Korea not to be deterred despite the difficulties.

Safferling was in Seoul to attend a review conference on the ICC's Rome Statute.

Hosted by the German, Estonian and Polish embassies in Seoul, the conference discussed harmonizing the ICC’s jurisdiction on the crime of aggression, calling for global support ahead of the ICC statute review in July.

“The member states of the ICC, Germany and South Korea, being the most prominent supporters, should not be irritated, but continue doing what is right -- to support and strengthen the ICC,” urged Safferling.

Asked how Germany and South Korea can jointly promote the ICC’s jurisdiction over crimes of aggression, Safferling referred to Germany and South Korea’s common traditions and similar histories.

“Our (German and Korean) criminal laws are rather similar,” he underlined, referencing academic exchanges among German and Korean criminal law scholars.

He recalled Germany's past division under a socialist regime that violated human rights, and called for mutual exchanges and learning to address human rights violations at home and abroad. Germany was divided into the capitalist West (Federal Republic of Germany) and the communist East (German Democratic Republic) after World War II, but they reunified under the West German system in 1990.

He also acknowledged the ICC's limited ability to address major global conflicts like the war in Ukraine, underlining that the ICC has proven ineffective in responding to severe breaches of international law.

Noting widespread threats to human rights, even from countries like the US, Safferling urged commitment to universal human rights.

“We must reassure ourselves that both our countries (Germany and South Korea) stand firm on the tradition of international human rights.”

“The more we do so, the more we can convince others to follow,” he said, calling on attendees to protect democratic values for the well-being of society and human beings.

Profile:

Professor Dr. Christoph Safferling, LL.M. (LSE), is an expert in international criminal law. He holds the Chair for Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, International Criminal Law, and Public International Law at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg. Since March 2023, he has also served as director of the International Nuremberg Principles Academy, an institution committed to advancing international criminal justice and preserving the legacy of the Nuremberg Trials. His area of study and work focuses on legal frameworks for core international crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.