'Getting the Bad Guys, Saving the Children': Populism, NGOs and International Criminal Law through the Lens of Child Soldiers

Abstract

The relationship between public opinion, populism, lobbyists and international criminal law (ICL) is currently understudied. Through the use of the child soldiers case study, this paper argues that these phenomena have the potential to influence various stages of ICL, from law formation and interpretation through to prosecutorial investigations and conviction. The source of this influence lies predominantly in various ICL actors, particularly diplomats, judges and prosecutors, who may be wittingly or unwittingly susceptible to the whims of public opinion and the lobbying of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Of course, these actors are beholden to other forces which may mitigate such susceptibility, such as upholding State interest or maintaining judicial impartiality. However, without proper acknowledgement of the influence NGOs and public opinion may have, a casual adoption of various NGO advocacy positions, which may themselves be over-simplified or biased, may result in the creation of inferior criminal justice law and policy. It may also bring ICL and its core institutions, such as the International Criminal Court, into disrepute, particularly in the eyes of communities most afflicted by international crimes.