A new approach for studying the interaction between international and domestic processes of criminal law-making in today's globalized world.

Leading law and society scholars apply an empirically grounded approach to the study of transnational legal ordering and its effects within countries.

This work is based on long-term research into State practice combined with the development of a theoretical foundation of such practice, which explains the behaviour of states as subject to clear legal restraints. It argues that state practice is not compatible with traditional concepts of international law and that a fresh approach is required.

The Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court represents a compromise between states with widely different agendas. Not all states at the Rome Conference were positive towards the idea of an effective International Court. This book examines three issues of relevance to the balance of competence between the court and states: The necessity of state consent to the court's jurisdiction, the complementarity of international and national justice systems, and the obligation of states parties to fully cooperate with the court.