But since aggression, genocide, and crimes against humanity are usually committed with the consent or complicity of a national government, the presence and primary power of an international tribunal is essential if world society is to be effectively protected. There should be very few restraints on who can bring charges, providing there are adequate judicial safeguards against frivolous or politically-motivated complaints. One major way governments are attempting to weaken the Court is by surrounding it with national vetoes. This could mean allowing the Security Council to prevent an issue coming before the Court, or requring that the Court gain the permission of the national government where the crime was committed before it can investigate the crime. Clearly, this would profoundly weaken the Court.
Enforcement also remains a fundamental problem.
The tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda have been severely handicapped by their inability to apprehend wanted criminals and to obtain complete cooperation from all states concerned. Failure to arrest the suspects makes a mockery of the judicial process. This failure must be corrected, possibly by an international force of marshalls empowered to arrest those indicted by the Court. If there is no enforcement, the Court's effectiveness will suffer. During the remaining months before the diplomatic conference is to take place, these and many other points will continue to be debated and compromises sought.