Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Rome Statute
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
Drafted	July 17 1998
Signed - location	July 17 1998[1] Rome[1]
Effective - condition	July 1 2002[2] 60 ratifications[3]
Signatories	139[2]
Parties	108[2]
Depositary	UN Secretary-General[1]
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish[4]
Website	http://untreaty.un.org/cod/icc/index.html
	Wikisource original text: Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (often referred to as the International Criminal Court Statute or the Rome Statute) is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC).

It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy, on 17 July 1998^[5][6] and it entered into force on 1 July 2002.^[2] As of June 2008, 108 states are party to the statute.^[2]

Among other things, the statute establishes the court's functions, jurisdiction and structure.

History

Following years of negotiations aimed at establishing a permanent international tribunal to punish individuals who commit genocide and other serious international crimes, the United Nations General Assembly convened a five-week diplomatic conference in Rome in June 1998 "to finalize and adopt a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court".^[7][8] On July 17 1998, the Rome Statute was adopted by a vote of 120 to 7, with 21 countries abstaining.^[5] The seven countries that voted against the treaty were Iraq, Israel, Libya, the People's Republic of China, Qatar, the United States, and Yemen.^[5]

Article 126 of the statute provided that it would enter into force shortly after the number of states that had ratified it reached sixty.^[3] This happened on April 11 2002, when ten countries ratified the statute at the same time at a special ceremony held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.^[9] The treaty entered into force on July 1 2002;^[9] the ICC can only prosecute crimes committed on or after that date.^[10]

Ratification status

The states parties to the Rome Statute (as of June 2008)

Main article: States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

See also: United States and the International Criminal Court

As of October 2008, 108 countries are party to the Rome Statute, including nearly all of Europe and South America, and roughly half the countries in Africa.^[2][11][12]

A further 40 states have signed but not ratified the treaty;^[2] the law of treaties obliges these states to refrain from “acts which would defeat the object and purpose” of the treaty.^[13] In 2002, two of these states, the United States and Israel, "unsigned" the Rome Statute, indicating that they no longer intend to become states parties and, as such, they have no legal obligations arising from their signature of the statute.^[2][14][15]

Review and amendment

See also: Review Conference of the International Criminal Court Statute

Any amendment to the Rome Statute requires the support of a two-thirds majority of the states parties, and an amendment will not enter into force until it has been ratified by seven-eighths of the states parties.^[16] Any amendment to the list of crimes within the jurisdiction of the court will only apply to those states parties that have ratified it.^[16]

The states parties are due to hold a Review Conference in the first half of 2010 to consider amendments to the statute.^[17] The Review Conference is likely to adopt a definition of the crime of aggression, thereby allowing the ICC to exercise jurisdiction over the crime for the first time.

See also

• International Criminal Court Act 2001
• Völkerstrafgesetzbuch

Notes and references

Further reading

• Antonio Cassese, Paola Gaeta & John R.W.D. Jones (eds.), The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press (2002). ISBN 978-0-19-829862-5.
• Roy S Lee (ed.), The International Criminal Court: The Making of the Rome Statute. The Hague: Kluwer Law International (1999). ISBN 90-411-1212-X.
• Roy S Lee & Hakan Friman (eds.), The International Criminal Court: Elements of Crimes and Rules of Procedure and Evidence. Ardsley, NY: Transnational Publishers (2001). ISBN 1-57105-209-7.
• William A Schabas, An Introduction to the International Criminal Court (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2004). ISBN 0-521-01149-3.

External links

• Text of the statute
• Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court — United Nations website
• International Criminal Court website