About International Criminal Court (ICC):
- It is a permanent and independent criminal court established to prosecute offenders of serious crimes in the international community.
- It is the only permanent international criminal tribunal.
- It was created by the Rome Statute, which came into force in 2002.
- Mandate: ICC investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community.
- Specifically, the ICC is intended to prosecute the following crimes:
- Genocide
- Crimes against humanity
- War crimes
- The crime of aggression
- The ICC is meant to serve as a last resort when the courts of sovereign states are unwilling to prosecute.
- Therefore, the ICC is complementary to national criminal jurisdiction and does not supersede it.
- Additionally, the ICC serves a different purpose than the International Court of Justice, which resolves conflicts between nations.
- Members: There are 125 member countries (China, India, Israel, Russia, and the United States are not ICC parties).
- Funding: The Court is funded by contributions from the States Parties and by voluntary contributions from Governments, international organizations, individuals, corporations, and other entities.
- Composition:
- Judges: The court has eighteen judges, each from a different member country, elected to non-renewable nine-year terms.
- The Presidency: Consists of three judges (the President and two Vice-Presidents) elected from among the judges. It represents the Court to the outside world and helps with the organization of the work of the judges.
- Office of the Prosecutor (OTP): OTP is responsible for receiving referrals and any substantiated information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court. OTP examines these referrals and information, conducts investigations, and conducts prosecutions before the Court.
- Registry: It provides administrative and operational support to the Chambers and the Office of the Prosecutor.
- Jurisdiction:
- The ICC is only competent to hear a case if:
- The country where the offence was committed is a party to the Rome Statute; or
- The perpetrator’s country of origin is a party to the Rome Statute.
- The ICC only has jurisdiction over offences committed after the Statute’s entry into force on 1 July 2002.
- Various parties have the right to refer a case to the ICC:
- any State Party to the Rome Statute, irrespective of any involvement in the alleged offence;
- the Prosecutor of the ICC;
- the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
- The UNSC may ask the ICC to defer investigation of a case for a limited period if it considers that the proceedings would constitute an obstruction to its powers.
