Taking Illegal Amnesties Seriously: Threefold Approach to the Admissibility Test before the International Criminal Court

Abstract The current oversimplification of the amnesty issue has created a narrative that international law prohibits granting and admitting the effect of amnesties for core crimes. However, even if a domestic amnesty is found illegal under international law, it is still valid at the national level. The International Criminal Court ( icc ) cannot ignore the existence of and the legal consequences of such ‘illegal’ amnesties in assessing the admissibility of a case. This article categorises amnesties into three types and clarifies the legal and factual effects of internationally illegal domestic amnesties for the icc and the legal logic under which the icc treats such amnesties at the admissibility stage based on the developing applicable laws. This study provides clear guidelines on the conditions that would make a case inadmissible before the icc for both the chambers and the domestic policy makers and legislators who design amnesties.