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The new International Criminal Court: A preliminary assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2010

Marie-Claude Roberge
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Extract

After years of relentless effort and five weeks of intense and difficult negotiations, the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was adopted and opened for signature in Rome on 17 July 1998. This historic event represents a major step forward in the battle against impunity and towards better respect for international humanitarian law. For too long it has been possible to commit atrocities with total impunity, a situation which has given perpetrators carte blanche to continue such practices. The system of repression established by international law clearly has its shortcomings, and the time has come to adopt new rules and set up new institutions to ensure the effective prosecution of international crimes. A criminal court, whether at the national or international level, does not put a stop to crime, but it may serve as a deterrent and, consequently, may help reduce the number of victims. The results achieved in Rome should thus be welcomed, in the hope that the new Court will be able to discharge its mandate to the full.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Review of the Red Cross (1961 - 1997) , Volume 38 , Issue 325 , December 1998 , pp. 671 - 683
Copyright
Copyright © International Committee of the Red Cross 1998

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References

1 These working documents can be found on the ICRC Website: www.icrc.org.

2 See supra, note 1.

3 For the complete list of war crimes see Article 8 of the Statute (Annex 1).

4 See Article 8, para. 2 (b) (xx) in Annex 1.

5 The effect of the exclusion of some war crimes from the list, or the departure from texts agreed upon in the 1977 Protocols, may, however, be limited. Article 10 of the Statute provides specifically that “[n]othing in this Part [which includes the definition of war crimes] shall be interpreted as limiting or prejudicing in any way existing or developing rules of international law for purposes other than this Statute.”

6 This would imply that the domestic legislation of State Y allows for the prosecution of a foreign national for crimes committed in a foreign country before its own courts. To date, only a limited number of States has adopted such legislation.

7 A proposal containing the elements of these crimes will be prepared by a Preparatory Commission comprising representatives of States having signed the Final Act of the Conference and of other specially invited States. A draft text is to be finalized before June 2000.