International Criminal Court

Following the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, as well as the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, the need was felt to establish a permanent international criminal court.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was adopted in Rome on 17 July 1998 and entered into force on 1 July 2002. The Court has its seat in The Hague, Netherlands.

The ICC is to punish the perpetrators of core international crimes (the crime of aggression, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide). Its jurisdiction is complementary to national criminal prosecutions. This means that the court only prosecutes when states are unwilling or unable to prosecute or investigate cases. A matter of state sovereignty, good faith and encouragement for national jurisdictions.

However, the Security Council of the United Nations has the right to bypass this requirement as it may refer a situation to the prosecutor when it establishes there is a threat to international peace and security.