What is the key set of a Presidents advisers who are responsible for the areas under their jurisdiction known as?

The Court's founding treaty, called the Rome Statute, grants the ICC jurisdiction over four main crimes.

First, the crime of genocide is characterised by the specific intent to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing its members or by other means: causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Second, the ICC can prosecute crimes against humanity, which are serious violations committed as part of a large-scale attack against any civilian population. The 15 forms of crimes against humanity listed in the Rome Statute include offences such as murder, rape, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, enslavement – particularly of women and children, sexual slavery, torture, apartheid and deportation.

Third, war crimes which are grave breaches of the Geneva conventions in the context of armed conflict and include, for instance, the use of child soldiers; the killing or torture of persons such as civilians or prisoners of war; intentionally directing attacks against hospitals, historic monuments, or buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes.

Finally, the fourth crime falling within the ICC's jurisdiction is the crime of aggression. It is the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, integrity or independence of another State. The definition of this crime was adopted through amending the Rome Statute at the first Review Conference of the Statute in Kampala, Uganda, in 2010.

On 15 December 2017, the Assembly of States Parties adopted by consensus a resolution on the activation of the jurisdiction of the Court over the crime of aggression as of 17 July 2018.

See The Rome Statute and Elements of Crimes

Legal process

As an international court, the ICC's legal process may function differently from that in your national jurisdiction. Below are a few highlights giving key information on the legal process.  

Example investigation and case from start to finish

After crimes occur

The Court may exercise jurisdiction in a situation where genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes were committed on or after 1 July 2002 and:

• the crimes were committed by a State Party national, or in the territory of a State Party, or in a State that has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court; or
• the crimes were referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) pursuant to a resolution adopted under chapter VII of the UN charter.

As of 17 July 2018, a situation in which an act of aggression would appear to have occurred could be referred to the Court by the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, irrespective as to whether it involves States Parties or non-States Parties.

In the absence of a UNSC referral of an act of aggression, the Prosecutor may initiate an investigation on her own initiative or upon request from a State Party. The Prosecutor shall first ascertain whether the Security Council has made a determination of an act of aggression committed by the State concerned. Where no such determination has been made within six months after the date of notification to the UNSC by the Prosecutor of the situation, the Prosecutor may nonetheless proceed with the investigation, provided that the Pre-Trial Division has authorized the commencement of the investigation. Also, under these circumstances, the Court shall not exercise its jurisdiction regarding a crime of aggression when committed by a national or on the territory of a State Party that has not ratified or accepted these amendments.

Complementarity

The ICC is intended to complement, not to replace, national criminal systems; it prosecutes cases only when States do not are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely.

Cooperation

As a judicial institution, the ICC does not have its own police force or enforcement body; thus, it relies on cooperation with countries worldwide for support, particularly for making arrests, transferring arrested persons to the ICC detention centre in The Hague, freezing suspects’ assets, and enforcing sentences.

While not a United Nations organization, the Court has a cooperation agreement with the United Nations. When a situation is not within the Court’s jurisdiction, the United Nations Security Council can refer the situation to the ICC granting it jurisdiction. This has been done in the situations in Darfur (Sudan) and Libya.

The ICC actively works to build understanding and cooperation in all regions, for example, through seminars and conferences worldwide. The Court cooperates with both States Parties and non-States Parties.

The Court works in particularly close cooperation with its host state, the Netherlands, regarding practical matters such as constructing the Court’s new permanent buildings, transferring suspects to the ICC Detention Centre, facilitating their appearances before the Court, and many other matters.

Countries and other entities, including civil society groups such as NGOs, also cooperate with the Court in numerous ways, such as raising awareness of and building support for the Court and its mandate. The Court seeks to increase this ongoing cooperation through such means as seminars and conferences.

Further to the Key Features listed above, here are some of the basics you may want to know:

• The ICC does not prosecute those under the age of 18 when a crime was committed.
• Before the Prosecutor can investigate, she must conduct a preliminary examination considering such matters as sufficient evidence, jurisdiction, gravity, complementarity, and the interests of justice.
• When investigating, the Prosecutor must collect and disclose both incriminating and exonerating evidence.
• The defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof lies with the Prosecutor.
• During all stages of proceedings (Pre-Trial, Trial and Appeals), the defendant has the right to information in a language he or she fully understands, thus the ICC proceedings are conducted in multiple languages, with teams of interpreters and translators at work.
• Pre-Trial judges issue warrants of arrest and ensure there is enough evidence before a case can go to trial.
• Before a case is committed to trial (during the Pre-Trial phase), the defendant is referred to as a suspect. Once the case is committed to trial, since at that point the charges have been confirmed, the defendant is referred to as the accused.
• Trial judges hear the evidence from the Prosecutor, Defence, and the Victims’ lawyers, render a verdict, and if a person is found guilty, the sentence and decision on reparations.
• Appeals judges render decisions on appeals from the Prosecutor or Defence.
• If a case is closed without a verdict of guilt, it can be reopened if the Prosecutor presents new evidence.

The Rome Statute established three separate bodies: The Assembly of States Parties, the International Criminal Court, which comprises four separate organs, and the Trust Fund for Victims.

The Rome Statute System

Representatives of States Parties meet and provide management oversight for the Court, including electing judges and the Prosecutor and approving the ICC’s budget

Presidency
Conducts external relations with States, coordinates judicial matters such as assigning judges, situations and cases to divisions, and oversees the Registry's administrative work

Judicial Divisions
18 judges in 3 divisions – Pre-Trial, Trial and Appeals – conduct judicial proceedings

OTP
Conducts preliminary examinations, investigations, and prosecutions

Registry
Conducts non-judicial activities, such as security, interpretation, outreach, support to Defence and victims' lawyers, and more

Provides assistance, support and reparations to victims

States Parties support the Court, accept the ICC's jurisdiction, and also work to incorporate the rules stipulated in the Rome Statute into their own judicial systems. Thus, each country that becomes a State Party brings the world closer to an ICC universal protection under the Rome Statute system. 

States Parties to the Rome Statute gather at least once a year at sessions of the Assembly of States Parties, to provide the management oversight for the Court, for example, by establishing the budget, providing funding and also electing the Court's judges and Prosecutor.

Although the Court's expenses are funded primarily by States Parties, it can also receive voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations and other entities.

While States Parties to the Rome Statute have an obligation to cooperate with the Court, countries that are not yet States Parties may also provide ad hoc voluntary cooperation.

President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute Sidiki Kaba

Learn more about the Assembly of States Parties.  

Trust Fund for Victims

Though the Trust Fund for Victims is separate from the Court, it was created in 2004 by the Assembly of States Parties, in accordance with article 79 of the Rome Statute. The Fund's mission is to support and implement programmes that address harms resulting from genocide, crimes of humanity and war crimes. To achieve this mission, the TFV has a two-fold mandate: (i) to implement Court-Ordered reparations and (ii) to provide physical, psychological, and material support to victims and their families. By assisting victims to return to a dignified and contributory life within their communities, the TFV contributes to realizing sustainable and long-lasting peace by promoting restorative justice and reconciliation.

Where we operate

Seat of the Court in The Hague, the Netherlands

The ICC's permanent premises, located at Oude Waalsdorperweg 10 2597 AK, The HagueThe Netherlands.