The Rome Statute and the

International Criminal Court

ICC Timeline
ICC was established on July 17, 1998 when
120 nationsadopted the Rome Statute
Entered into Force 1 July 2002
In accordance with Art. 126 of Rome Statute:
60 days after 60 states had become parties
to the statute through ratification or
accession
As of March 2016, 124 states are parties to
the statute of the court

ICC UN

The ICC is an independent organization

The Assembly of the States Parties and the Courts

president thereafter will establish the relationship with the
UN based on Article 2 of the ICC Statute

ICC Seat of the Court

The official seat of the Court is in The Hague,
Netherlands, but its proceedings may take place anywhere.
The Court moved into its first permanent premises in The
Hague, located at Oude Waalsdorperweg 10, on
December 14, 2015.
The ICC maintains a liaison office in New York and field
offices in places where it conducts its activities.
As of 18 October 2007, the Court had field offices in
Kampala, Kinshasa, Bunia, Abch and Bangui.

Jurisdictional Requirements
(1) subject-matter jurisdiction (what acts
constitute crimes),
(2) territorial or personal jurisdiction (where
the crimes were committed or who committed
them), and
(3) temporal jurisdiction (when the crimes
were committed).

(1) Subject-matter Jurisdiction

Crimes
The crime of genocide
Crimes against Humanity
War crimes
The crime of aggression

Genocide
There are five such acts which constitute crimes of genocide
under Article 6:
1. Killing members of a group
2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the
group
3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life
calculated to bring about its physical destruction
4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the
group
5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

Crimes Against Humanity

War Crimes
There are seven crimes which constitute serious violations
of article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and which
are applicable only to non-international armed conflicts:

War Crimes
There are 11 crimes which constitute grave breaches of the
Geneva Conventions and which are applicable only to
international armed conflicts:

Crime of Aggression
The article also contains a list of seven acts of
aggression, and include the following acts when
committed by one state against another state:
1.Invasion or attack by armed forces against
territory
2.Military occupation of territory
3.Annexation of territory
4.Bombardment against territory
5.Use of any weapons against territory

Crime of Aggression
6.Blockade of ports or coasts
7.Attack on the land, sea, or air forces or marine
and air fleets
8.The use of armed forces which are within the
territory of another state by agreement, but in
contravention of the conditions of the agreement
9.Allowing territory to be used by another state to
perpetrate an act of aggression against a third state
10. Sending armed bands, groups, irregulars, or
mercenaries to carry out acts of armed force

(2) Territorial or Personal

Jurisdiction
For an individual to be prosecuted by the Court
either territorial jurisdiction or personal jurisdiction
must exist. Therefore, an individual can only be
prosecuted if he or she has either:
(1) committed a crime within the territorial
jurisdiction of the Court; or
(2) committed a crime while a national of a state
that is within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court.

Other Limits on Jurisdiction

Temporal jurisdiction
Crimes committed after entry into force (11 (1))

Admissibility (Art. 17)

Investigation or prosecution by a state
Unless unable or unwilling
Last resort

Other Limits on Jurisdiction

Complementarity
The principle of complementarity means that
the Court will only prosecute an individual if
states are unwilling or unable to prosecute.

Gravity
- The Court will only initiate proceedings if a
crime is of "sufficient gravity to justify further
action by the Court".

ICC CASE CHECKLIST

Is the crime under ICC jurisdiction?

Is there temporal jurisdiction?

Was the case properly referred?

Is the domestic court unable or unwilling to prosecute?

ICC trial

Art. 5

Art. 11

Art. 13

Art. 17

Organs of the Court

The Presidency (3)

The Chambers (3)

Office of the Prosecutor (1)
Registry (1)

Organs of the Court-Presidency

Elected by 2/3 of the vote in the Assembly of the

States Parties
President
First Vice-President
Second Vice President

Organs of the Court-Chambers

The composition of the Chambers is decided by

judges in plenary sessions

Pre-Trial Division served by First Vice-President 6
judges and 1-3 judges on the bench for any given
trial
Trial Division served by Second Vice-President
5 judges 3 judges on the bench for any given trial
Appeals Division served by the President 4
judges 5 judges on the bench for any given trial

Organs of the Court-Office of the

Prosecutor

The Assembly of the States Parties elect the Chief

Prosecutor by 2/3 of the votes
The OP is independent
The Chief Prosecutor may submit a list of
individuals to the Assembly of the States Parties
to elect 1 or 2 Deputy Prosecutors
The Chief Prosecutor investigates and brings
criminal charges as outlined Statute

Organs of the Court-Office of the

Prosecutor

The Prosecutor may open an investigation under

three (3) circumstances:

when a situation is referred to him or her by a state party;

when a situation is referred to him or her by the United

Nations Security Council, acting to address a threat to
international peace and security; or
when the Pre-Trial Chamber authorizes him or her to
open an investigation on the basis of information received
from other sources, such as individuals or nongovernmental organizations.

Organs of the Court-Registry

A Registrar is elected in a plenary session by the absolute
majority vote of the judges of the Court
The Registrar has no juridical responsibilities and
privileges
The Registrar must assist the victims and the defendants
in order to have a fair trial

Exercise of Jurisdiction

Exercise of Jurisdiction
and State Sovereignty

Of the 3 forms of case referral, which is least

problematic when it comes to sovereignty?
Is it justifiable for the Security Council to refer
cases to the ICC, even situations in non-ICC
states?
Is it justifiable for the ICC prosecutor to initiate
cases? Why or why not?

Criticism of the ICC

Lack of oversight, checks & balances

Selectivity

Sovereignty concerns

Makes peace process more difficult

Thinking about the ICC

What checks are there on the ICCs power?

Is the ICC biased against Africa?

Does the ICC infringe on sovereignty?

Is the ICC doing its job deterring intl crimes?