1 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court art. 15(1), July 17, 1998, 2187 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force July 1, 2002), available at http://un.org/law/icc/index [hereinafter Rome Statute] (“The Prosecutor may initiate investigations proprio motu on the basis of information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.”). According to Article 13, the Court may exercise jurisdiction over cases referred directly by a state party, referred by the Security Council acting under its Chapter VII powers, or when the ICC prosecutor initiates an investigation by his own volition. Id. art. 13(1)-(3).

2 Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute states that “[i]f the acceptance of a State which is not a Party to this Statute is required under paragraph 2, that State may, by declaration lodged with the Registrar, accept the exercise of jurisdiction by the Court with respect to the crime in question. The accepting State shall cooperate with the Court without any delay or exception in accordance with Part 9.” Id. art. 12(3).

3 Situation in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Case No. ICC-02/ 01, Déclaration de reconnaissance de la Compétence de la Cour Pénale Internationale (Apr. 18,2003), available at http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/CBElF16B-5712-4452-87E7-4FDDE5DD70D9/279779ÆCDE.pdf; Situation in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Case No. ICC-02/01, Confirmation de la Déclaration de reconnaissance (Dec. 14, 2010), available at http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/498E8FEB-7A72-4005-A209-C14B A374804F/0/ReconCPI.pdf.

4 Three state parties to the Rome Statute—Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic—have referred situations occurring on their territories to the Court. The Security Council has referred to the ICC two non state parties: Sudan and Libya. Finally, Pre-Trial Chambers have granted authorization to open investigations into the situation in Kenya, a state party, and now Côte d’Ivoire, a non-state party.

5 At the June 18, 2012 hearing, the ICC Prosecutor will present a summary of the evidence, and the Court will determine whether it is sufficient enough to believe that Gbagbo committed each of the crimes charged and to merit bringing the case to trial. See Pre-Trial Schedule, available at http://www.icc-cpi.int/menus/icc/situations%20and%20cases/situations/icc0211/.

6 Rome Statute, supra note 1, arts. 15(4), 53(1).

7 Situation in the in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Case No. ICC-02/11-14, Decision Pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute on the Authorisation of an Investigation Into the Situation in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, ¶ 24 (Oct. 3, 2011), available at http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/exeres/9FAF2B34-FFB7-490A-A9DD-BE7623EDE9C3.htm [hereinafter Decision Pursuant to Article 15].

8 Id.

9 Id. at 190, 207.

10 Rome Statute, supra note 1, art. 17(l)(d).

11 Id. art. 11 (explaining jurisdiction ratione temporis).

12 Situation in the Republic of Kenya, Case No. ICC-01/09-19-Corr, Decision Pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute on the Authorisation of an Investigation Into the Situation in the Republic of Kenya, 1206 (Mar. 31, 2010), available at http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc854287.pdf; Situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Case No. ICC-01/04-01/10-7, Decision on the Prosecutor’s Application for a Warrant of Arrest Against Callixte Mbarushima (Sept. 28, 2010), available at http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc954979.pdf.

13 On February 22,2012, the Pre-Trial Chamber issued a decision expanding its authorization for the investigation in Côte d’Ivoire to include crimes committed between September 19, 2002, and November 28, 2010. See Situation in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Case No. ICC-02/01, Decision on the “Prosecution’s Provision of Further Information Regarding Potentially Relevant Crimes Committed Between 2002 and 2010” (Feb. 22, 2012), available at http://www.icc-cpi.int/menus/icc/situations%20and%20cases/situations/icc021l/press%-20releases/pr768.

14 Decision Pursuant to Article 15, supra note 7, ¶ 181.

15 Id. ¶ 179.

16 Since 1990, numerous former heads of state have been legitimately prosecuted for serious human rights abuses or economic crimes in domestic courts. Recently, ex-President Alberto Fujimori of Peru was convicted and sentenced in Peru’s own court system to twenty-five years in prison for human rights abuses committed while in office. There is an ongoing trial of former President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt within its domestic system.

17 Situation in Darfur, Sudan, Case No. ICC-02/05-01/09, Warrant of Arrest for Omar Hassan Ahmad al Bashir (Mar. 4, 2009), available at http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc639078.pdf; Situation in Darfur, Sudan, Case No. ICC-02/05-01/09, Second Warrant of Arrest for Omar Hassan Ahmad al Bashir (July 12, 2010), available at http://www.icc-cpi.int/menus/icc/situations%20and%20cases/situations/sit-uation%20icc%200205/related%20cases/icc02050109/court%20records/chambers/ptci/95?lan=en-GB.