A. About the Court

The ICC is a permanent international criminal tribunal that can try the most heinous international crimes. It was established after the Rome Summit in 1998 and entered into force on 1st July 2002 after sixty states ratified the Rome Statute.

The Rome Statute provides for the establishment of a permanent Court with the jurisdiction to try cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Previously, tribunals set up to prosecute such crimes were established after the crimes were committed and this meant that they had no deterrent value. It is a court with much greater jurisdiction over such crimes than the previous tribunals. However the court’s jurisdiction is not yet global (see discussion on jurisdiction below).

Click here for full text of the Rome Statute (html version)

Click here for full text of the Rome Statute (.pdf version)

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court enters into force in a country when that country formally ratifies, accepts, approves of or accedes to the Statute. Mere signature of the statute is not enough for the statute to enter into force in the signatory state. Once the Statute has entered into force in a country that country is known as a State Party

To see if the country you are interested in is a State Party click here

On February 3rd - 7th 2003 the Assembly of States Parties elected the Court’s eighteen judges: three judges from African States, three from Asian States, one from Eastern European States, four from Latin America and Caribbean States, and seven from Western Europe and Other States. Of the elected judges, 10 have competence in criminal law and 8 have competence in international law. Seven of the 18 judges are women.

Click here for a full list of the Judges of the Court

The Court is a fully functioning institution. All the senior officials are now in place. However as of mid-2004 it had not yet prosecuted any cases.

How does a case get to the International Criminal Court?

The court can take on a case in one of three situations:

• If a state party refers a situation to the court

• If the United Nations Security Council refers a situation to the court

• If the Prosecutor initiates an independent investigation

Under Article 15 of the Rome Statute the Prosecutor has the power to undertake an independent investigation into crimes alleged to have occurred within the jurisdiction of the court. The Office of the Prosecutor can therefore receive complaints about cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. If it has jurisdiction and the State Party is unwilling or unable to investigate, the Office of the Prosecutor can step in, investigate, prosecute and convict those responsible for the crimes.

The current Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo

Sentencing

If a prosecution is successful, the Court has the option to sentence the guilty party along the guidelines set out in Article 77. These allow for the prison sentences up to 30 years and, in certain cases, when “justified by the extreme gravity of the crime and the individual circumstances of the convicted person”, the Court may decide to impose a life sentence.

In addition to prison sentences, the Court can also impose a fine or confiscate assets derived from the crimes.