2. Introduction
• Permanent international court established to
investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of
committing the most serious crime of concern to the
international community as a whole, namely the crime
of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and
the crime of aggression.
• Established in July 2002.
• Seat of the court- The Hague, Netherlands
• The ICC has jurisdiction only with respect to events
which occurred after the entry into force of its Statute
on 1 July 2002
3. History
• The Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals were established in the wake of
the Second World War. In 1948, when the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted,
the United Nations General Assembly recognized the need for a
permanent international court to deal with the kinds of atrocities
which had just been perpetrated.
• However, while negotiations on the ICC Statute were underway at
the United Nations, the world was witnessing the commission of
heinous crimes in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and in
Rwanda. In response to these atrocities, the United Nations
Security Council established an ad hoc tribunal for each of these
situations.
• These events undoubtedly had a most significant impact on the
decision to convene the conference which established the ICC in
Rome in the summer of 1998.
4. Rome Statute
• On 17 July 1998, a conference of 160 States established the first treaty-based
permanent international criminal court. The treaty adopted during that conference
is known as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Among other
things, it sets out the crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the ICC, the rules of
procedure and the mechanisms for States to cooperate with the ICC. The countries
which have accepted these rules are known as States Parties and are represented
in the Assembly of States Parties.
• The Assembly of States Parties, which meets at least once a year, sets the general
policies for the administration of the Court and reviews its activities. During those
meetings, the States Parties review the activities of the working groups established
by the States and any other issues relevant to the ICC, discuss new projects and
adopt the ICC’s annual budget.
• Over 120 countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute, representing all regions
throughout the world.
• Seven countries voted against the statute: China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar, the
United States, and Yemen. China objected on grounds that "the statute is an
attempt to interfere with the domestic affairs of a sovereign nation." Other non
members include India, Iran, Japan, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
Syria, and Turkey
5. Structure of ICC
• The ICC is composed of four organs: the Presidency, the Chambers, the Office of
the Prosecutor and the Registry. Each of these organs has a specific role and
mandate.
• The Presidency consists of three judges (the President and two Vice-Presidents)
elected by an absolute majority of the 18 judges of the Court for a maximum of
two, three-year terms. The Presidency is responsible for the administration of the
Court, with the exception of the Office of the Prosecutor.
• Chambers: The 18 judges, including the three judges of the Presidency, are
assigned to the Court’s three judicial divisions: the Pre-Trial Division (composed of
seven judges), the Trial Division (composed of six judges), and the Appeals Division
(composed of five judges).
• The Registry helps the Court to conduct fair, impartial and public trials. The core
function of the Registry is to provide administrative and operational support to the
Chambers and the Office of the Prosecutor.
• The Office of the Prosecutor is an independent organ of the Court. Its mandate is
to receive and analyze information on situations or alleged crimes within the
jurisdiction of the ICC, to analyze situations referred to it in order to determine
whether there is a reasonable basis to initiate an investigation into the crime and
to bring the perpetrators of these crimes before the Court.
6. Qualifications
• Judges are elected to the ICC by the Assembly of States Parties, the court's governing
body. They serve nine-year terms and are not generally eligible for re-election.
• By the time of their election, all judges must be nationals of states parties to the Rome
Statute, 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”,and
they must "have an excellent knowledge of and be fluent in at least one of the working
languages of the Court"
• Judges are elected from two lists of candidates. List A comprises candidates who have
"established competence in criminal law and procedure, and the necessary relevant
experience, whether as judge, prosecutor, advocate or in other similar capacity, in
criminal proceedings". List B comprises candidates who have "established competence
in relevant areas of international law such as international humanitarian law and the
law of human rights, and extensive experience in a professional legal capacity which is
of relevance to the judicial work of the Court".Elections are organised so that there are
always at least nine serving judges from List A and at least five from List B.
7. • The Assembly of States Parties is required to "take into
account the need for the representation of the principal
legal systems of the world, equitable geographical
representation and a fair representation of female and
male judges. They shall take into account the need to
include judges with legal expertise on specific issues,
including, but not limited to, violence against women and
children." Thus, there are voting requirements established
which require at least six judges to be female and at least
six to be male. Additionally, each regional group of the
United Nations has at least two judges. If a regional group
has more than sixteen states parties this leads to a
minimum voting requirement of three judges from this
regional group. Therefore, from the Statute's entry into
force for the Maldives on 1 December 2011, all regional
groups can claim a third judge
8. Disqualification and removal from
office
• The prosecutor or any person being investigated or
prosecuted may request the disqualification of a judge
from "any case in which his or her impartiality might
reasonably be doubted on any ground". Any request
for the disqualification of a judge from a particular case
is decided by an absolute majority of the other judges.
• A judge may be removed from office if he or she "is
found to have committed serious misconduct or a
serious breach of his or her duties" or is unable to
exercise his or her functions. The removal of a judge
requires both a two-thirds majority of the other judges
and a two-thirds majority of the states parties.
9. Presidency
• The Presidency is the organ responsible for the proper administration of the
court, except for the Office of the Prosecutor. The Presidency oversees the
activities of the Registry and organizes the work of the judicial divisions. It also
has some responsibilities in the area of external relations, such as negotiating
agreements on behalf of the court and the promoting public awareness and
understanding of the institution.
• The Presidency 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 firsts
President of the ICC were Philippe Kirsch, who served from 2003 to 2009,
Sang-hyun Song from 2009 to 2015, Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi from 2015
to 2018. As of March 2018, the President is Chile Eboe-Osuji from Nigeria ;
Robert Fremr of Czech Republic is First Vice-President and Marc Perrin de
Brichambaut of France is Second Vice-President. All three were elected on 11
March 2018.
10. Judicial divisions
• The eighteen judges are organized into three
divisions: the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division and
Appeals Division. The Pre-Trial Division (which
comprises the Second Vice President and five
other judges) confirms indictments and issues
international arrest warrants. The Trial Division
(the First Vice President and six other judges)
presides over trials. Decisions of the Pre-Trial and
Trial Divisions may be appealed to the Appeals
Division (the President and four other judges).
Judges are assigned to divisions according to their
qualifications and experience
