International Criminal Court: By: Jhonel S. Dellova Daewin Isidro M. Pamittan

International
Criminal
Court
By:
Jhonel S. Dellova
Daewin Isidro M. Pamittan
International Criminal Court (ICC)
(1). The ICC is an intergovernmental organization and
international tribunal that sits in The Hague, Netherlands.
(2). It has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the
international crimes of genocide, crimes against
humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression.
(3). It is intended to complement existing national
judicial systems an it may therefore exercise its
jurisdiction only when certain conditions are met, such as
when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute
criminals or when the United Nations Security Council
(4). The ICC began functioning on July 1,
2002, the date that the Rome Statute entered
into force.
(5). The Rome Statute is a multilateral treaty
that serves as the ICC’s foundational and
governing document.
(6). States which become party to the Rome
Statute become member states of the ICC. As
of March 2019, there are 122 ICC member
HISTORY:
The establishment of an international tribunal to judge political leaders
accused of international crime was first proposed during the Paris Peace
Conference in 1919 following the First World War by the Commission of
Responsibilities.
The issue was addressed again at a conference held in Geneva under the
auspices of the League of Nations in 1937, which resulted in the conclusion of
the first convention stipulating the establishment of a permanent international
court to try acts of international terrorism. The convention was signed by 13
states, but none ratified it and the convention never entered into force.
Following the WWII, the allied powers established two ad hoc tribunals to
prosecute Axis leaders accused of war crimes. The International Military
Tribunal, which sat in Nuremberg, prosecuted German leaders while the
International Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo prosecuted Japanese leaders.
In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly first recognized the
need for a permanent international court to deal with atrocities of the
kind prosecuted after the WWII. At the request of UNGA, the
International Law Commission (ILC) drafted two statutes by the
early 1950s but these were shelved during the Cold War, which made
the establishment of an international criminal court politically
unrealistic.
In June 1989 Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago A.N.R.
Robinson revived the idea of a permanent international criminal court by
proposing the creation of such a court to deal with the illegal drug trade.
Following the proposal, the General Assembly tasked the ILC with
once again drafting a statute for a permanent court.
While work began on the draft, the United Nations Security
Council established two ad hoc tribunals in the early 1990s:
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia, created in 1993 in response to large-scale
atrocities committed by armed forces during Yugoslav wars,
and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,
created in 1994 following the Rwandan genocide. The creation
of these tribunal further highlighted the need for a permanent
international criminal court.
Finally the General Assembly convened a conference in
Rome in June 1998, with the aim of finalizing the treaty to
serve as the Court’s statute. On July 17, 1998, the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court was adopted by
Following 60 ratifications, the Rome Statute
entered into force on July 1, 2002 and the
International Criminal Court was established.
The first bench of 18 judges was elected by
the Assembly of States Parties in February
2003. they sworn in at the inaugural session of the
Court on March 11, 2003. the Court issued its
first arrest warrants on July 8, 2005, and the
first pre-trial hearings were held in 2006. The
Court issued its first judgment in 2012 when it
found Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga
Principal Organs of ICC
A.THE PRESIDENCY
B.THE JUDICIAL DIVISION
C.THE OFFICE OF THE
PROSECUTOR
D.THE REGISTRY
The Presidency
The Presidency is responsible for the proper
administration of the Court (apart from the Office of
the Prosecutor). It comprises the President and the
First and Second Vice-Presidents-three judges of the
Court who are elected to the Presidency by their fellow
judges for a maximum of two three-year terms.
The President is the most senior judge chosen by his
or her peers in the Judicial Division, which hears cases
before the Court.
The current president is Chile Eboe-Osuji, who
JUDICIAL DIVISION
It consist of the 18 judges of the Court, organized into three
chambers- the Pre-trial Chamber, Trial Chamber and Appeals
Chamber- which carry out the judicial functions of the Court.
Judges are elected by the Assembly of States Parties. They
serve nine-year terms and are not generally eligible for re-
election. All judges must be nationals of states parties to the
Rome Statutes, and no two judges may be nationals of the same
state. They must be “persons of high moral character,
impartiality and integrity who possess the qualifications
required in their respective States for appointment to the
highest judicial offices.”
OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR (OTP)
The OTP is responsible for conducting

investigations and prosecutions. It is headed by
the Chief Prosecutor, who is assisted by one or
more Deputy Prosecutors.
The Rome Statute provides that the OTP
shall act independently, as such, no member of
the Office may seek or act on instructions from
any external source, such as states,
international organizations, non-governmental
The Prosecutor may open an investigation
under three circumstances:
1.When a situation is referred to him or her by a state
party;
2.When a situation is referred to him or her by the United
Nations Security Council, acting to address a threat to
international peace and security; or
3.When the Pre-trail chamber authorizes him or her to
open an investigation on the basis of information
received from other sources, such as individuals or
non-governmental organizations.
The Registry
It is responsible for the non-judicial aspects of the
administration and servicing of the Court. This
includes, among other things, “the administration of
legal aid matters, court management, victims and
witnesses matters, defense counsel, detention unit,
and the traditional services provided by the
administrations in international organizations, such
as finance, translation, building management,
procurement and personnel.
The registry is headed by the Registrar, who is
The Three Jurisdictional Requirement
1.Subject-Matter Jurisdiction (what acts

constitute crimes)
2.Territorial or Personal Jurisdiction
(where the crimes were committed or
who committed them)
3.Temporal Jurisdiction (when the crimes
were committed)
Admissibility Requirements
To initiate an investigation, the Prosecutor must:

1.Have a reasonable basis to believe that a crime
within the jurisdiction of the Court has been or is
being committed;
2.The investigation would be consistent with the
principle of complementarity; and
3.The investigation serves the interest of justice.

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The OTP is responsible for conducting

1.Subject-Matter Jurisdiction (what acts

To initiate an investigation, the Prosecutor must:

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