The Prosecutor’s Important Announcements 1;the Communication of Moral Authority at the International Criminal Court

Abstract

This article explores the specific identity that the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the International Criminal Court constructs and communicates to the outside world through its press releases. The mapping of the OTP’s essential claims about allegiances, the judicial mandate, and victims, highlights how the OTP imagines and manages its self-asserted moral authority. An in-depth case study of its framing of the turbulent developments in the cases against Kenyan officials shows how the OTP’s discourse is marked by a continuous repetition of goals and values while it simultaneously strategically shifts allegiances and externalizes failure in times of criticism.