‘“Quid”,not “quantum”: a comment on “how the international criminal court threatens treaty norms"

TL;DR: This article argued that the question is less "quantum iuris", or how much right a state possesses and passes on, than "quid ius" or "quia iura", or which right or rights.

Abstract: The article comments on the analysis in Michael A. Newton’s 'How the International Criminal Court Threatens Treaty Norms' of the jurisdiction in respect of their territory conferred on the ICC by States parties to the Rome Statute. It argues that, while the maxim 'nemo plus iuris transferre potest quam ipse habet' emphasized by Newton cannot be gainsaid, the question is less 'quantum iuris', or how much right a state possesses and passes on, than 'quid ius' or 'quia iura', or which right or rights. Jurisdiction is not a solid block of 'right'. It is a layering of different rights, whose existence, moreover, must be distinguished from their exercise. An appreciation of these subtleties leads to a different conclusion as to the competence of the Court to entertain proceedings in the cases highlighted by Newton, whatever this competence may mean for breach by a State party of its other treaties.