Abstract:

 The crimes committed in Syria since the beginning of the revolution on March 15, 2011, and which are still continuing until now, are grave violations of international law, as the parties to the conflict continue to commit the most heinous violations, including killing civilians, torture, recruiting children, and bombing medical facilities…. Therefore, it was the best way to curb the spread of international crimes in general, and war crimes in particular, by prosecuting the perpetrators, bringing them to trial and applying penalties to them, before a permanent criminal court with jurisdiction over serious international crimes that undermine the pillars of the international community and threaten its core interests.

Unfortunately, those who follow the provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court see that most of these rules are clearly, continuously and widely violated, due to the presence of many loopholes and restrictions that prevent this body from carrying out the desired tasks, and have negatively affected the Court’s exercise of its jurisdiction.

Therefore, this study dealt with the concept of war crime as the oldest and most serious crimes, and their forms committed in the context of the Syrian conflict, in addition to the most important legal and political obstacles for the court in holding perpetrators of Syrian war crimes accountable, which question the effectiveness of this body, and undermine its primary mission in perpetuating the principle of non-escape from punishment. The study concluded with a number of findings and recommendations, stressing the necessity of making amendments to the texts of the court’s statute to limit impunity for perpetrators, in order to ensure an effective international system that enshrines the force of law, and also to reconsider the relationship between the International Criminal Court and the Security Council so that the political nature does not overwhelm the The work of the judicial court.

Keywords: war crimes – the Syrian conflict – the International Criminal Court – legal loopholes – the Charter of the United Nations