NCJ Number
197454
Journal
International Review of Penal Law Volume: 72 Issue: 3 Dated: 2001 Pages: 783-812
Date Published
2001
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This report from the 17th International Congress of Penal Law examines the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute in investigating and prosecuting international crimes and the political and legal concerns for states in the ratification of the Rome Treaty on the Establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the implementation of its provisions.
Abstract
With the increase in human rights violations and international humanitarian law norms directed against civilian populations, the international community has responded with the desire to investigate and prosecute international crimes in a more systematic manner. The response is seen through the adoption of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute and those states acting to bring the ICC into existence, empowering their own national systems to prosecute these crimes. Fifty-two states have ratified the Rome Treaty on the Establishment of the International Criminal Court leaving eight states to ratify the treaty before entry into force. The ICC relies on national legal systems for essential assistance. For a state to exercise jurisdiction instead of surrender, the state needs the appropriate legal mechanism in place to effectively and fairly prosecute the accused. In order to comply with its treaty obligations to cooperate, states must individually identify, address, and overcome their obstacles to ratification. This report from the International Congress addresses several political and legal problems in ratification that have been identified, and present proposed strategies for nationally implementing legislation. Each state’s act of ratification carries an equal international legal consequence requiring action to ensure that the state may perform the assumed obligations. In summation, the international community’s aspirations of accountability, as embodied in the ICC, will never be realized if its warrants and orders are not executed, its court personnel are obstructed, and essential evidence is never obtained. Resolutions and recommendations