The power and limits of the ICC

World view

- AMANDA TAUB

Police in the Philippines arrested Rodrigo Duterte, the country's former president, Tuesday on charges of crimes against humanity under a warrant by the International Criminal Court.

While in office, Duterte encouraged the police to hunt down and kill people whom they suspected of being involved in the illegal drug trade. Human rights groups say that more than 30,000 people were killed in extrajudicial executions.

The arrest represents a significant victory for the ICC, an independent judicial body that investigates and tries people accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression from its base in The Hague.

But Duterte's arrest also shows the limits of the court's power: although its jurisdiction is sweeping, the court cannot carry out arrests on its own. It relies on the cooperation of national governments to execute its warrants, which leaves it at the mercy of domestic politics.