ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 focuses on non-cooperation with high-profile court requests as one form of resistance. It presents the contrasting behavior of the supportive states chronicled in Chapter 3: their non-arrests of (now former) Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, which makes them partial compliers. The chapter traces these non-arrests by several African ICC members over time and highlights the ICC’s reaction to the resistance, including issuing non-compliance findings against the states and shaming the UN Security Council for its lack of follow-up. The chapter shows that various African governments failed to execute this high-cost request by the Court—to arrest a fellow African leader—to avoid jeopardizing bilateral relations. Moreover, the legal uncertainties surrounding head of state immunity and the AU’s backing of non-cooperation created loyalty conflicts for member states that were forced to choose between the AU policy and their ICC obligations. The chapter further substantiates the argument that resistance is tied to cases against sitting heads of state that pose higher regime costs to governments.
