Diagnosing Barriers to International Criminal Justice in Relation to War Crimes and the Alleged Genocide in Gaza; A Strategic Model for Enhancing the Effectiveness of International Mechanisms

Document Type : Original Independent Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Law, Go, C., Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran.

2 Department of Law, Go., C, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan, Iran.

Abstract
This study examines barriers to international criminal justice concerning war crimes and the alleged genocide by the Israeli regime in Gaza, and develops a strategic model to improve the effectiveness of international mechanisms. The research is applied, exploratory, and qualitative. Methods combine documentary analysis, semi-structured interviews, and the Delphi technique. The study population comprises 18 university professors and specialists in criminal law and criminology, international law, and international relations, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected in three rounds. The first identified barriers; the second assessed indicator importance using a Likert scale; and the third provided feedback and sought consensus. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis, means, standard deviations, and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance. Findings indicated that barriers to international criminal justice fall into four dimensions: political and power-related, legal and institutional, operational and judicial, and diplomatic and discursive. Political selectivity, limited state cooperation, weak enforcement guarantees, difficulties accessing evidence, and conflicting international interests were identified as major barriers. Results indicate that improving international mechanisms requires strengthening judicial independence, expanding state cooperation, independent documentation, greater institutional transparency, and reduced political interference. The proposed strategic model emphasizes synergy among legal, institutional, operational, and diplomatic capacities to strengthen accountability and reduce impunity.

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