With the International Criminal Court's inauguration, the intention is to have one internationally recognised court to judge those accused of committing violations of international humanitarian law such as genocide and war crimes.
Here is an overview of the functioning and the powers of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Foundation:In July 1998, 120 nations agreed to establish a permanent international war crimes court and signed the Rome statute. The treaty enters into force 60 days after 60 nations have ratified the document.
On April 11th the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) became the sixtieth country to ratify the treaty and triggered its entry into force after two complete calendar months. A total of 74 states have now ratified the treaty.
Jurisdiction:The ICC is mandated to try genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court is not retroactive so it can only hear cases on matters that occurred after the Rome treaty entered into force.
Only when national courts are unable or unwilling to properly deal with war crimes can the ICC step in to take over. It operates under the principle of complementarity.
The court can receive referrals from states for crimes that have occurred against their nationals or on their territories. The prosecutor could also launch an investigation if a crime has come to the court's attention.
In theory, the court's jurisdiction is universal but it can only prosecute if the state where the crimes were committed or the state of the nationality of the accused are party to the statute.
The court will be able to try cases involving states that have not ratified the treaty in two instances: non-party states can agree to accept the jurisdiction of the court for the purpose of a particular situation. The United Nations Security Council can also refer a case to the court and the states involved would have to accept this under international law.
Other international war crimes tribunals so far created have always been ad hoc courts, to be closed as soon as they have finished their mission. The ICC is a permanent court.
Seat:The ICC will be located in The Hague in Hooland. The city already houses the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest UN legal institution which deals only with disputes between states.
Judges and prosecutors:The judges, prosecutors and registrars for the ICC will be elected by the signatory states of the treaty in January 2003. The rules and procedures for the elections and the appointments will be finalised in a conference of all the states party to the court to be held in September at the UN headquarters in New York.
AFP