Complementarity

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The term complementarity may refer to:

• Complementarity (molecular biology), a property of nucleic acid molecules in molecular biology
• Complementarity theory, a concept related to optimization in mathematics
• Complement
• Complementarianism, a social theory of the "complementarity of sexes" which is often invoked in anthropology by opponents of so-called gender theory
• Interpersonal compatibility, the idea in social psychology that people seek others with characteristics that are different from and complement their own
• Yin and Yang, a philosophic concept of contrasting or even contradictory concepts that represent different perspectives on reality and that together are more comprehensive than any one of them alone

• In economics, it may refer to either
  • Complementary good, or
  • Network effects
• In physics, it may refer to either
  • Complementarity (physics), a basic principle of quantum theory, or
  • Quark-Lepton complementarity in models from grand unified theory

• In systems thinking, it is a principle concerning the observability of system behaviour. In systems theory, any description of a system reflects the point of view of a particular observer. The principle of complementarity states that, for any reasonably complex system, the views of any two observers will be complementary – it will be impossible to derive all the observations of one of the observers from the other. The principle applies whenever we have partial descriptions of the world from our observers, and may disappear if we ask the observers to make increasingly detailed observations.

• In international law and international jurisprudence, it is the principle that the higher (supranational) judicial body can only take prosecutorial jurisdiction or authority in cases where the lower (national) judicial system is not investigating or prosecuting or has not been investigating or prosecuting a crime. “It ensures that the [international] authority does not supplant the role of national authorities in the administration of criminal justice.” “The exception to this rule should be where the national proceedings are ‘ineffective’ or ‘unavailable,’ rather than where the state is ‘unwilling’ or ‘unable.’” It is intended to “assure that national authorities will remain the first line of investigation and prosecution” and not be usurped by international judicial authorities. Its particular relevance is to the functioning of the International Criminal Court [ICC].

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