NCJ Number
190928
Date Published
September 2001
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This paper explains the main obligations of states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and discusses how they should be implemented into national law.
Abstract
On July 17, 1998, 120 states voted to adopt the Rome Statute of the ICC, which created the first-ever permanent international criminal court, independent and impartial. Unlike the International Court of Justice (known as the World Court), the ICC will not hear cases between nation states, but rather will try individuals who are accused of the most serious crimes under international law, namely, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. This paper recommends that states take the opportunity provided by the Rome Statute to strengthen their own criminal justice systems, so they are capable of prosecuting the ICC crimes themselves. In so doing, the states will contribute to an effective international criminal justice system in which there are no safe havens for those who commit the worst international crimes. One section of this paper details the primary treaty obligation of states parties to the Rome Statute, namely, the obligation to cooperate with the ICC. The matters discussed in this section must be implemented at the national level. Another section of the paper explains the importance to national criminal justice of the domestic implementation of the ICC crimes and of providing for the highest standards of protection for the rights of accused persons in national law. It also calls on states to enact laws for the exercise of universal jurisdiction over ICC crimes and other serious crimes under international law, so that national courts can prosecute these crimes even if they were not committed on the territory of the state and even if the perpetrator and victims were not nationals of the state. Appended key provisions of the Rome Statute, summaries of approaches to implementing law that several countries have adopted, and descriptions of some differences in definitions of the crimes in the Rome Statute and those found in other international conventions and under international customary law