Law
The Principle of Complementarity in International Criminal Court Jurisdiction
Quick fact
The ICC cannot take up a case as long as a country with jurisdiction is genuinely investigating or prosecuting the same crimes — this 'complementarity' principle is the reason the ICC has opened only a handful of trials compared to national courts.
Why this is interesting
You've heard of the ICC — the world's permanent war crimes court. But did you know it rarely steps onto the main stage of justice? Instead, it waits for a reason to shine: only when a country fails to judge its own monsters.