(ICC) The ICC It came into being on 1 July 2002the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, came into force the first permanent, treaty based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community The ICC The ICC is an independent international organization, and is not part of the United Nations system. Its seat is at The Hague in the Netherlands. Although the Courts expenses are funded primarily by States Parties, it also receives voluntary contributions from governments, international organizations, individuals, corporations and other entities. The ICC in The Hague The Rome Statute
Green: Parties; Yellow: Signed but not ratified; Red: Neither signed nor ratified The ICC Today
Seat: The Hague, Netherlands
Official Languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish Statute in force for 122 states The President of the Court is Judge Sang- Hyun Song (Republic of Korea). Judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng (Botswana) is First Vice-President, and Judge Cuno Tarfusser (Italy) is Second Vice-President. Jurisdiction Article 5 of the Rome Statute grants the Court jurisdiction over four groups of crimes, which it refers to as the "most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole": the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. Initiated by a state party, the SC and the prosecutor on its own/motu propio Jurisdiction The Court has four mechanisms which grant it jurisdiction: (1st) if the accused is a national of a State party to the Rome Statute (2nd) if the alleged crime took place on the territory of a State Party (3rd) if a situation is referred to the Court by the United Nations Security Council. (4th) if a State not party to the Statute 'accepts' the Court's jurisdiction. Territorial Jurisdiction During the negotiations that led to the Rome Statute, a large number of states argued that the Court should be allowed to exercise universal jurisdiction. However, this proposal was defeated due in large part to opposition from the United States. A compromise was reached, allowing the Court to exercise jurisdiction only under the following limited circumstances: Territorial Jurisdiction where the person accused of committing a crime is a national of a state party (or where the person's state has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court); where the alleged crime was committed on the territory of a state party (or where the state on whose territory the crime was committed has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court); or where a situation is referred to the Court by the UN Security Council.[ Temporal jurisdiction The Court's jurisdiction does not apply retroactively: it can only prosecute crimes committed on or after 1 July 2002 (the date on which the Rome Statute entered into force). Where a state becomes party to the Rome Statute after that date, the Court can exercise jurisdiction automatically with respect to crimes committed after the Statute enters into force for that state. Complementarity The ICC is intended as a court of last resort, investigating and prosecuting only where national courts have failed. Article 17 of the Statute provides that a case is inadmissible if: "(a) The case is being investigated or prosecuted by a State which has jurisdiction over it, unless the State is unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution; Complementarity Article 20, paragraph 3, specifies that, if a person has already been tried by another court, the ICC cannot try them again for the same conduct unless the proceedings in the other court: "(a) Were for the purpose of shielding the person concerned from criminal responsibility for crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court; or Complementarity (b) Otherwise were not conducted independently or impartially in accordance with the norms of due process recognized by international law and were conducted in a manner which, in the circumstances, was inconsistent with an intent to bring the person concerned to justice." Complementarity (b) The case has been investigated by a State which has jurisdiction over it and the State has decided not to prosecute the person concerned, unless the decision resulted from the unwillingness or inability of the State genuinely to prosecute; (c) The person concerned has already been tried for conduct which is the subject of the complaint, and a trial by the Court is not permitted under article 20, paragraph 3; (d) The case is not of sufficient gravity to justify further action by the Court." Genocide
the deliberate and systematic destruction,
in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; Genocide causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Crime against humanity are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority Crime against humanity Murder; extermination; torture; rape; political, racial, or religious persecution and other inhumane acts reach the threshold of crimes against humanity only if they are part of a widespread or systematic practice. Isolated inhumane acts of this nature may constitute grave infringements of human rights, or depending on the circumstances, war crimes, but may fall short of falling into the category of crimes under discussion. War Crimes serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict (also known as international humanitarian law) giving rise to individual criminal responsibility Examples: murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war", the killing of prisoners, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by military, or civilian necessity Crime of Aggression planning, preparation, initiation or execution, by a person in a position effectively to exercise control over or to direct the political or military action of a State, of an act of aggression which, by its character, gravity and scale, constitutes a manifest violation of the UN charter act of aggression means the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations Crime of Aggression invasion or attack by the armed forces of a State of the territory of another State, or any military occupation Bombardment by the armed forces of a State against the territory of another State or the use of any weapons by a State against the territory of another State blockade of the ports or coasts of a State by the armed forces of another State Crime of Aggression attack by the armed forces of a State on the land, sea or air forces, or marine and air fleets of another State use of armed forces of one State which are within the territory of another State with the agreement of the receiving State, in contravention of the conditions provided for in the agreement or any extension of their presence in such territory beyond the termination of the agreement Crime of Aggression action of a State in allowing its territory, which it has placed at the disposal of another State, to be used by that other State for perpetrating an act of aggression against a third State sending by or on behalf of a State of armed bands, groups, irregulars or mercenaries, which carry out acts of armed force against another State of such gravity as to amount to the acts listed above, or its substantial involvement therein Structure of the Court
The Court is an independent institution.
The Court is composed of four organs. These are: the Presidency, the judicial Divisions, the Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry. The Presidency responsible for the overall administration of the Court, with the exception of the Office of the Prosecutor, and for specific functions assigned to the Presidency in accordance with the Statute composed of three judges of the Court, elected to the Presidency by their fellow judges, for a term of three years The current President of the Court is Judge Sang-Hyun Song (Republic of Korea). Judicial Divisions consist of eighteen judges organized into the Pre-Trial Division, the Trial Division and the Appeals Division judges of each Division sit in Chambers which are responsible for conducting the proceedings of the Court at different stages Assignment of judges to Divisions is made on the basis of the nature of the functions each Division performs and the qualifications and experience of the judge. Office of the Prosecutor responsible for receiving referrals and any substantiated information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court, for examining them and for conducting investigations and prosecutions before the Court Currently, the Office is headed by the Prosecutor, Mrs. Fatou Bensouda (The Gambia), who was elected by the States Parties for a term of nine years. Registry responsible for the non-judicial aspects of the administration and servicing of the Court headed by the Registrar who is the principal administrative officer of the Court The Registrar exercises his or her functions under the authority of the President of the Court. Other Offices The Court also includes a number of semi-autonomous offices such as the Office of Public Counsel for Victims and the Office of Public Counsel for Defense. These Offices fall under the Registry for administrative purposes but otherwise function as wholly independent offices. The Assembly of States Parties has also established a Trust Fund for the benefit of victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court and the families of these victims. General Principles of Criminal Law adhered to by the ICC Nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege maxim states that there can be no crime committed, and no punishment meted out, without a violation of penal law as it existed at the time Rule against Ex-post facto law No person shall be criminally responsible under this Statute for conduct prior to the entry into force of the Statute. General Principles of Criminal Law adhered to by the ICC A person shall be criminally responsible and liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court if that person: Direct participation Orders, solicits or induces the commission of such a crime which in fact occurs or is attempted In any other way contributes to the commission or attempted commission of such a crime by a group of persons acting with a common purpose General Principles of Criminal Law adhered to by the ICC For the purpose of facilitating the commission of such a crime, aids, abets or otherwise assists in its commission or its attempted commission, including providing the means for its commission directly and publicly incites others to commit genocide Attempts to commit such a crime by taking action that commences its execution by means of a substantial step, but the crime does not occur because of circumstances independent of the person's intentions General Principles of Criminal Law adhered to by the ICC Individual responsibility The Court shall have no jurisdiction over any person who was under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged commission of a crime. Crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC do not prescribe. Intent and knowledge is an essential element. Mistake of fact exemption from criminal liability Mistake of law - not be a ground for excluding criminal responsibility General Principles of Criminal Law adhered to by the ICC Exemption from criminal liability Person suffering from mental disease or defect person is in a state of intoxication that destroys that person's capacity to appreciate the unlawfulness or nature of his or her conduct self-defense caused by duress resulting from a threat of imminent death or of continuing or imminent serious bodily harm against that person or another person The International Criminal Court