ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the interaction between the doctrine of the responsibility to protect and the International Criminal Court through a discussion of the practical and methodological difficulties in comparing and connecting an international judicial institution with an international law doctrine. The analysis deals in detail with two common elements of the doctrine and the Court: their international legal theory of liberal cosmopolitanism and their aim to prevent or stop mass violence, sometimes referred to as ‘atrocity crimes’. Additionally, this chapter addresses the main issues that hinder effective interaction between the doctrine and the Court, from the ongoing development of the doctrine, which has not yet reached a definitive and comprehensive definition, to the dependence of the Court on the UN Security Council and cooperation with states.
