Corruption is one of the fundamental challenges of the contemporary world, which undermines the rule of law, exacerbates poverty, and obstructs the path toward human, economic, and political development; a phenomenon that ultimately poses a serious threat to human rights and public security. In international instruments, there is no precise and consensus-based definition of corruption. The World Bank defines corruption as "the abuse of public office for private gain." It can be argued that this concept enjoys the greatest global acceptance among various definitions. Accordingly, in the present article, corruption shall be used in the aforementioned sense.

To fight corruption at national and international levels, several mechanisms have been established. Research indicates that the most important among these are the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, and specialized domestic courts for corruption cases.

Nevertheless, recent scholarly research indicates that the incidence of corruption worldwide has not seen a significant decrease in recent years, notwithstanding these instruments.

In this regard, reference can be made to the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Index, which serves as a crucial international metric for assessing the extent of corruption, measured and presented by the Basel Institute on Governance. According to the institute's evaluations, a regression has occurred in this field between 2021 and 2024.

Another metric utilized to analyze progress in the fight against corruption is the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). This index is provided by Transparency International and ranks countries based on the perceived levels of corruption as observed by experts and business professionals. According to Transparency International’s statistics, from 2012 to 2024, the CPI improved in only 32 countries, while it stagnated or deteriorated in 148 countries during this period.

The present research demonstrates that the inefficiency of existing conventions and soft law instruments, coupled with the inability or unwillingness of domestic judicial systems to prosecute high-ranking officials, has driven the international community toward the idea of establishing an International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC).

In 2016, leaders from over forty countries gathered at the Anti-Corruption Summit in London to propose fundamental solutions. At this summit, the Global Declaration against Corruption was adopted, and participating countries committed to prosecuting corrupt. This declaration, centered on the UNCAC, stated that existing international institutions and efforts are insufficient, and the ratifying governments committed to exploring and implementing innovative solutions. Subsequently, the statement declared support for the creation of an International Anti-Corruption Court.

Previously, in 2014, Judge Mark Wolf—widely recognized as a preeminent international figure in the global fight against corruption—founded an independent, non-profit NGO titled "Integrity Initiatives International" to garner urgent international attention and identify effective legal tools for the prevention and punishment of corruption.

A primary objective of this influential organization has been to mobilize broad-based international support for the establishment of the IACC as a permanent judicial authority. At the World Justice Forum held by III at the Peace Palace in The Hague on June 1, 2022, numerous countries announced their formal commitment to establishing this court. Parallel to these states, a formidable global coalition of civil society organizations is forming to support the court's creation through collaborative advocacy. In May 2021, over a hundred former heads of state, cabinet members, Nobel laureates, and prominent leaders signed a declaration supporting the IACC; this declaration has now been endorsed by nearly 300 world leaders from 80 countries, including over 40 former presidents and prime ministers who recognize the gravity of the issue.

Various structures have been proposed by distinguished international law scholars and practitioners for the eventual establishment of this court. The most significant proposal is to utilize the experiences of the International Criminal Court (ICC), particularly as it remains the only active permanent international criminal court and the sole international instrument for ending impunity regarding the most heinous international crimes. Since the IACC is also proposed as a permanent court in the realm of international criminal justice, it can draw upon the ICC's established experiences in areas such as institutional structure and its practice.



In evaluation, it is argued that modeling after the ICC's experience is an appropriate solution but requires certain substantive reforms specifically tailored to the phenomenon of corruption. Among the most crucial elements the IACC Statute can adopt from the Rome Statute are the principle of complementarity and the court's judicial jurisdiction. Another highly applicable lesson from the ICC experience is the utilization of specialized judges to preside over cases.

The substantive difference between war crimes and financial crimes necessitates that, instead of relying exclusively on witness testimony, the focus should be on the expertise of judges in tracing complex financial flows and bypassing bank secrecy barriers. international bank secrecy barriers. The Prediction of mechanisms such as the Asset Recovery Commission and incentive-based protections for whistleblowers can transform this court from a merely punitive institution into an economic arm for the restoration of national wealth.

In the feasibility and desirability analysis of this proposal, addressing the realities of the international system is essential. The research findings emphasize that the current international order within international organizations and institutions has become a tool for consolidating the status quo and maintaining the gap between developing and developed nations.

Ultimately, it can be concluded that although the establishment of an International Anti-Corruption Court appears desirable from a theoretical and legal perspective, its potential for success within the current global order faces serious doubts.

As long as structural fissures in international organizations remain unaddressed and the crisis of mistrust between developing and developed countries persists, any new institution-building may lead to the reproduction of existing inequalities. Accordingly, under prevailing conditions, the focus should remain on strengthening domestic courts and developing bilateral and multilateral asset recovery agreements, rather than outsourcing justice to supranational entities. Judicial independence within borders and direct transborder mutual legal assistance continue to be a more realistic and effective strategy for effectively combating corruption