The Rome Statute

International Criminal Court

 ICC was established in 1998

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

 By 2011, 108 states had ratified the Rome Statute

As of March 2016, 124 states are party to the Rome Statute

Green = signed and ratified

Orange = signed but not ratified

Where is it located?
The Hague, Netherlands

Composed of 18 Judges

Independent Organization, not linked to UN

Justice and
Punishment

Deterrence

Four
Goal
s
Progressive
Developme
nt of
Internationa
l Law

RecordKeeping

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
For the purpose of this Statute, genocide means any of
the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in
whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious
group, as such:
a) Killing members of the group;
b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of
the group;
c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life
calculated to bring about its physical destruction in
whole or in part;
d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within

Crimes Against Humanity

For the purpose of this Statute, crime against humanity
means any of the following acts when committed as part
of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any
civilian population, with knowledge of the attack
1. Murder;
2. Extermination;
3. Enslavement;
4. Deportation or forcible transfer of population;
5. Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical
liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international

Crimes Against Humanity

6. Torture;
7. Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy,
enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of
comparable gravity;
8. Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on
political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as
defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally
recognized as impermissible under international law, in
connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any
crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
9. Enforced disappearance of persons;
10.The crime of apartheid;

War Crimes
For the purpose of this Statute, war crimes means:
1. Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August
1949, namely, any of the following acts against persons or
property protected under the provisions of the relevant
Geneva Convention
2. Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in
international armed conflict, within the established framework
of international law, namely, any of the following acts
3. In the case of an armed conflict not of an international
character, serious violations of article 3 common to the four
Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the
following acts committed against persons taking no active
part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who

4. Paragraph 2 (c) applies to armed conflicts not of an

international character and thus does not apply to situations
of internal disturbances and tensions, such as riots, isolated

The acts
crime of
and sporadic
ofgenocide
violence or other acts of a similar
nature. Crimes against Humanity

War crimes
5. Other serious
violations of the laws and customs applicable
in armed
of an international character, within
conflicts
The crime ofnot
aggression
the established framework of international law, namely, any
of the following acts

6. Paragraph 2 (e) applies to armed conflicts not of an

international character and thus does not apply to situations
of internal disturbances and tensions, such as riots, isolated
and sporadic acts of violence or other acts of a similar
nature. It applies to armed conflicts that take place in the

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

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.

Important consideration on Jurisdiction

TEMPORAL: The crime occurred after 1 July 2002 (or if
a state joins the Rome Statute later, the date the
Statute comes into force for that state)
TERRITORIAL: The crime occurred on the territory of a
state party
PERSONAL: The person accused of the crime is a
national of a state party
REFERRAL: The Security Council has referred the
matter under its Chapter VII Charter powers

Important consideration on Jurisdiction

Admissibility (Art. 17)
Investigation or prosecution by a state
Unless unable or unwilling
Last resort
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

Penalties
1.

Court may impose one of the following penalties on a

person convicted of a crime
a) Imprisonment for a specified number of years, which
may not exceed a maximum of 30 years OR
b) A term of life imprisonment when justified by the
extreme gravity of the crime and the individual
circumstance of the convicted person

2. In addition:
a) A fine under criteria provided
b) Forfeiture of proceeds, property and assets derived
directly or indirectly from that crime

Organs of the Court

The Presidency (3)
The Chambers (3)
Office of the Prosecutor (1)
Registry (1)

Presidency
Elected by 2/3 of the vote in the Assembly of
the States Parties
President
First Vice-President
Second Vice President

Judicial Divisions
The composition of the Chambers is decided by
judges in plenary sessions
The Judicial Divisions consist of the 18 judges
of the Court, organized into three chambers:
Pre-Trial Chamber
Trial Chamber and
Appeals Chamber

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

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 non- governmental organizations.

Exercise of Jurisdiction

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

Criticism of the ICC

Lack of oversight, checks & balances
Selectivity
Sovereignty concerns
Makes peace process more difficult