What is a supranational court? Discuss/describe the advantages and challenges of supranational court

A supranational court is a judicial mechanism which directs its decisions across borders, which results in a higher legal standing compared to the decisions arrived at by the individual courts (Dammer and Albanese, 2014). Ratification can be the only possible solution for the Rome Statute only if the statute can be signed and agreed upon to one unified statute between the United States and Rome. One of the challenges to ratification is the lack of Jury trials, for instance in the ICC people are prosecuted before a panel of Judges; therefore if this practice is implemented in the United States it will violate the individual rights of rights to. Secondly, there is an argument against the ICC courts since there is a common belief that it violates the US constitution and sovereignty of the U.S, For instance, when a U.S nationals are taken to the ICC it is considered to be breaching of the supreme law of United States. I think these concerns are valid since entry into the treaty will cause a threat to the security of U.S nationals and their right to a jury.

Judicial independence is important in the separation of powers which allows judges to make decisions that are not influenced by any political affiliation. The factors that affect judicial independence principle are; the media and the self-interest portrayed by the judges. First, the media influence on certain cases results to pressure on the judges since the perception of people is different on how fair the case will be decided based on the media case analysis. Secondly, judge's self-interest affects their decision on a case, therefore judges should make a fair and impartial judgment based on the evidence provided to ensure they do not portray self-interest.

I agree supranational courts are judicial mechanisms used by judges to make decisions across borders, in this case, citizens may seek redress if they have already exhausted all the legal means to redress in their native country. ICC is an example of a supranational court, in the US the government is against the ICC since they believe their sovereignty will be affected and since the ICC does not have a right to jury prosecution of U.S citizens at ICC will be violating their rights to a jury. In addition, the factors that affect judicial independence are the media and personal interest of the judges which might affect the decision they make on a case.