On July 14, in a separate trial, Moreno-Ocampo boldly indicted Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and murder committed in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first serving head of state to be so indicted (Milosevic had lost power the year before his arrest); and even many of al-Bashir's critics, believe that, whatever guilt he may carry for Darfur, he is crucial to any peace deal. Alex de Waal, a journalist who has covered the issue for the past decade, writes on the website Open Democracy, that, "the prosecutor is striking an immense blow for universal jurisdiction. He is seeking to demonstrate that no one can enjoy impunity for crimes. He is taking a step towards a world constitution in which the barriers of national sovereignty are swept away in favour of the rule of law with global reach." He adds, however, that the issue is not so simple - and quotes a Sudanese political leader, known for publicly supporting the ICC in principle, as saying that this is "a classic case in which justice and stability are at loggerheads". De Waal calls the decision "controversial and fraught with danger", and asks: "Will this be a historic victory for human rights, a principled blow on behalf of the victims of atrocity against the men who orchestrated massacre and destruction? Or will it be a tragedy, a clash between the needs for justice and for peace, which will send Sudan into a vortex of turmoil and bloodshed?"
The question goes to the root of the present ambiguous position of the international courts, poised between what de Waal describes as the "rule of law with global reach" and the deal-making, power-broking, face-saving manoeuvres by which mediating states and institutions induce monsters to stop their horrors. If the rule of international law is to be embedded, it must find a working relationship with realpolitik - while gradually supplanting it. This is a long way from its declarative ideals. With luck, the idealistic step taken will not be taken back. It will need more than luck - it will need substantial political will - for another step forward.
