We are almost 15 years into the grand experiment that is the International Criminal Court (ICC). Since the ICC began operating on July 1, 2002, the tribunal has begun 23 cases and rendered four judgments leading to three convictions and one acquittal. Predictions that the ICC would fail in the absence of the participation of global powers such as the United States, Russia, and China have not come to pass. And while the ICC is not without its critics and criticisms, it has become solidified as the cornerstone of the efforts at development of international criminal law and standards of global justice.

It is possible to argue that at the forefront of the court’s efforts over the past decade and a half is the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP). As the most public face of the tribunal, it has had to address a number of tensions and struggles—including concerns over state sovereignty and institutional power struggles—as the ICC sought to establish itself as an independent global actor capable of contributing to the development of international criminal law and universal global justice. Given the prominent role of the ICC prosecutor in both selecting and trying the cases that come before the court, and in developing and maintaining the ICC’s relationships with its states’ parties and international organizations such as the United Nations, it has become essential to better understand how both the Office of the Prosecutor and the individual who fills the office shape and impact the efforts for international justice.

In the edited volume The First Global Prosecutor, editors Maartha Minow, C. Cora True-Frost, and Alex Whiting have compiled a series of essays that seek to do just that: examine the role and impact of the prosecutor of the ICC, both for the court itself and for broader efforts at global justice. Drawing together essays from the fields of law and politics, they provide unique insights and theories into the role that the OTP and the particular efforts of the first prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, have played in developing policies and procedures for the court, overcoming the concerns and criticisms of states’ parties and other international organizations, and developing internal guidelines and definitions to create a more transparent, effective, and functional legal institution.

The volume is divided into three parts, each of which examines one of these facets of the OTP. Part I considers the “foundations for the OTP’s supranational prosecutions,” including the legal constraints, the international politics, and the institutional structure within which the prosecutor must operate (p. 24). Part II examines the relationships between the prosecutor and other international actors, particularly the relationships between the OTP and the UN Security Council and the judges of the ICC itself (p. 24). Part III considers the impacts that the prosecutor’s actions have had and what this legacy might mean for the second prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, as she continues expanding the impact of the court, for the breadth of the crimes that can be brought to trial, and for our understandings of justice on a global scale.

The greatest contribution of this volume is the recognition that the actors that matter on the global stage are continuing to expand beyond the historical focus on the state. The prosecutor of the ICC has become an important global actor in his/her own right. By examining the role of the prosecutor and the various internal and external constraints on the office and how they have been overcome, the essays forge new ground in our understanding of the shifting dynamics of the international system where individuals, institutions, and legal processes are taking on new roles.

The conclusions of the volume are generally positive, while recognizing that numerous difficulties continue to face the Office of the Prosecutor—chief among them the political support of states and other organizations like the UN Security Council and maintenance of sufficient financial resources to effectively carry out investigations. During his terms, Moreno Ocampo strengthened the OTP through concrete and transparent policies regarding daily process and legal procedures. He also built and maintained relations not only with the other actors within the ICC itself (the various judicial tribunals) but also with external intergovernmental organizations and nongovernmental organizations that work with the court. Well characterized in the editors’ concluding chapter, Moreno Ocampo was, “[in] addition to creator, manager, inventor, and prosecutor … also a civil servant, a diplomat, and an educator” (p. 362).

In fact, it is clear from several of the essays that one of Moreno Ocampo’s key achievements during his term was his development of the role of “international civil servant.” This is highlighted in True-Frost’s examination of the relationship between the OTP and the UN Security Council. She argues that Moreno-Ocampo developed the role of international civil servant with a focus on applying the law and avoiding politics. This focus allowed him to develop institutional allies and avoid perceptions of overstepping boundaries on the political or legal questions held closely by other actors. This is reaffirmed in the essay by Julie Rose O’Sullivan, who concludes that “Moreno Ocampo’s strategy of confining his battles with the judicial organ to the courtroom and avoiding any hint of public criticism of even the judges’ more questionable rulings has served the institution well” (p. 182).

If there is a critique of this volume, it is that the essays are somewhat uneven in the extent to which they address the impact that the prosecutor, as an individual, has had on both the workings of the court and the international system. Some clearly address the “promise and constraints” of the prosecutor. Others only briefly refer to the prosecutor as an actor and are, rather, discussions of the International Criminal Court more broadly. While still valuable for our understanding of the growth, dynamics, and challenges that face the ICC in its second decade, these essays fall short of meeting the goals of the editors to understand “how the OTP has become a dynamic force in building international criminal justice norms” (p. 20).

For example, David Scheffer’s essay is less about the impact of the prosecutor and more about U.S. criticism of the proprio motu authority given to the OTP and how these concerns have not come to bear. While an extremely informative essay on the development of proprio motu and a powerful refutation of the arguments of one of the key holdouts on the ICC, it is not until its very end that the role of the prosecutor is specifically mentioned, when Scheffer states: “That reality can be credited to Luis Moreno Ocampo, and his staff, who developed standards of legal review and generally executed a cautious methodology during the Court’s first decade” (p. 41). Similarly, the essay by Leila Nadya Sadat, while useful for understanding the difficulties inherent in the phrase “crimes against humanity,” focuses less on the actual actions of the prosecutor in addressing these difficulties. To fully understand the impact of the prosecutor as a separate actor in the international system, more detail is needed on what exactly Moreno Ocampo has done to expand the practical use of “crimes against humanity” in legal cases.

A single volume cannot do everything, particularly one that is opening the door to new areas of research. For those interested in pursuing this line of inquiry further, more research on who the prosecutor is and what qualities allow him/her to be a powerful actor within the court and international criminal justice system will be a great contribution to our broader understanding. It is not just about assessing the successes and failures of the prosecutor, but understanding the qualities of someone who can assume the responsibility of being the prosecutor for the ICC.

This is a minor point, however, and the overall contributions of The First Global Prosecutor are significant for anyone interested in the ICC and efforts to promote international justice. Luis Moreno Ocampo, himself says in the Prologue to this volume that the editors’ “unique efforts to innovate the legal analysis by expanding the scholarly focus to take into account emerging supranational legal systems” (p. 1) like the Office of the Prosecutor provide valuable insights for scholars of international law, international justice, and international institutions.