This past century has seen some of the worst atrocities in the history of humanity. In too many cases, these crimes have been committed with impunity, which has only encouraged others to flout the laws of humanity.
States representative of the international community met in order to negotiate and agree upon the establishment of a treaty based International Criminal Court to help end impunity and the gross violations of international humanitarian law.
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Based in the Hague, The Netherlands, the International Criminal Court is the first ever permanent international institution, with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals responsible for the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Court shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression once a provision is adopted defining the crime and setting out the conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction with respect to it.
The jurisdiction of the ICC will be complementary to national courts, which means that the Court will only act when countries themselves are unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute.
The jurisdiction and functioning of the court is governed by the provisions of the Rome Statute. The ICC also has strong protections for due process, procedural safeguards to protect it from abuse, and furthers victims' rights and gender justice under international law.
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The ICC Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002, 60 days after the 60th ratification needed to create the Court was received on April 11th at a special event at the United Nations, when 10 countries simultaneously deposited their instruments of ratification.
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The International Criminal Court will complement national courts so that they retain jurisdiction to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
If a case is being considered by a country with jurisdiction over it, then the ICC cannot act unless the country is unwilling or unable genuinely to investigate or prosecute.
A country may be determined to be "unwilling" if it is clearly shielding someone from responsibility for ICC crimes. A country may be "unable" when its legal system has collapsed.
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Proceedings before the ICC may be initiated by a State Party, the Prosecutor or the United Nations Security Council.
The jurisdiction of the ICC is based on "complementarity", which allows national courts the first opportunity to investigate or prosecute.
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The ICC will not have retroactive jurisdiction and therefore will not apply to crimes committed before 1 July 2002, when the Statute entered into force.
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The Rome Statute included the crime of aggression within the jurisdiction of the Court. However, the States Parties must adopt an agreement setting up a definition of aggression and the conditions under which the Court could exercise its jurisdiction.
A review conference will be held in 2009, seven years from the date that the Rome Statute entered into force, during which the matter will be discussed.
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The ICC will have jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ICC may be able to prosecute terrorist acts only if they fall within these categories.
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The International Criminal Court is the product of a multilateral treaty, whereas the Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda were created by the United Nations Security Council. These tribunals were created in response to specific situations and will be in existence for a limited time period.
The ICC is a permanent international criminal tribunal and will avoid the delays and costs of creating ad hoc tribunals.
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) does not have criminal jurisdiction to prosecute individuals. It is a civil tribunal that deals primarily with disputes between States. The ICJ is the principle judicial organ of the United Nations, whereas the ICC is independent of the UN.
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The Court is funded by contributions from the States Parties and by voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations and other entities.
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The ICC has established its headquarters in The Hague, The Netherlands. The Court is currently located at ‘de arc’.
- Address: Maanweg 174, 2516 AB, The Hague, Netherlands
- Postal Address: Po Box 19519, 2500 CM, The Hague, Netherlands
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As at January 2009, 285 women and 302 men work for the ICC, coming from more than 85 states.
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The International Criminal Court is seeking creative, professional, and highly-motivated individuals to work for the Court. The organisation is also conducting Visiting Professional and Internship/Clerkship Programmes.
All vacancies and application guidelines are published on the ICC web site.
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