International Criminal Court Act 2001
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The International Criminal Court Act is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament adopted on 11 May 2001. The Act implements into the law of England, Wales and Northern Ireland the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.[1]
The principal aims of the Act are:[2]
- to incorporate into domestic law the offences contained in the Rome Statute (genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity);[3]
- to fulfill the United Kingdom's obligations under the Statute, particularly in relation to the arrest and surrender of persons wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the provision of assistance with respect to ICC investigations; and
- to create a legal framework so that persons convicted by the ICC can serve prison sentences in the United Kingdom.
In 2006, three British military personnel were charged with inhumane treatment, a war crime, under the Act.[4] Two of the three soldiers were cleared but the third, Corporal Donald Payne, became the first British person ever to be convicted of a war crime.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ International Committee of the Red Cross (2001): International Humanitarian Law: National Implementation. Accessed 4 July 2007.
- ^ Foreign and Commonwealth Office: International Criminal Court Act 2001: Explanatory Notes. Accessed 4 July 2007.
- ^ Note that the Act does not include the crime of aggression. Although the Rome Statute lists the crime of aggression as a crime under the jurisdiction of the Court, Article 5 of the Rome Statute stipulates that the ICC will not exercise its jurisdiction over the crime of aggression until agreement has been reached on a definition of that crime and the conditions under which jurisdiction will be exercised. Any amendment to the crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC, if accepted by the UK, would need to be given effect by a further Act of Parliament. See Foreign and Commonwealth Office: International Criminal Court Act 2001: Explanatory Notes, para. 10. Accessed 4 July 2007.
- ^ British soldier admits war crime. BBC News, 19 September 2006. Accessed 4 July 2007.
- ^ UK soldier jailed over Iraq abuse. BBC News, 30 April 2007. Accessed 4 July 2007.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- International Criminal Court Act 2001 — text of the Act at the Office of Public Sector Information
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