Even where the Court has jurisdiction, it will not necessarily act. According to the complementarity principle, national jurisdictions are meant to be the primary safeguards against impunity, responsible for investigating and prosecuting crimes under the Rome Statute.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) is responsible for determining whether there is reasonable basis to open an investigation considering the criteria established by the Rome Statute - these so-called 'preliminary examinations' include attention to complementarity efforts.
A key goal of the preliminary examinations is to encourage governments to themselves investigate and prosecute alleged grave crimes committed on their territories or by their citizens.
The preliminary examination, along with the later stages of the OTP's activities, plays a crucial part in the Court's role in deterring actual and potential perpetrators of grave violations.
Prosecutions can have a preventive impact on the perpetration of atrocities, and it all starts with the preliminary examination.