International Criminal Court
(ICC) A permanent court to try individuals for the most serious offences of global concern. In 1998, the UN convened an international conference that resulted in 120 nations signing the Rome Statute in order to establish the ICC with its seat in The Hague. Crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court are genocide (art 6), war crimes (art 8), and crimes against humanity (art 7), such as widespread or systematic extermination of civilians, enslavement, torture, rape, forced pregnancy, persecution on political, racial, ethnic, or religious grounds, and enforced disappearances. State parties to the Statute accept the jurisdiction of the ICC over these crimes. Prior to the establishment of the Court offences had been tried by ad hoc tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The Court set up by the Rome Statute is both permanent and has a jurisdiction extending to a large number of states (there are currently 123 members). However, the Statute provides that, except when the UN Security Council determines to the contrary, the ICC will be limited to the prosecution of crimes that take place on the territory of states that have ratified the Statute. The USA signed the Statute in 2000 but did not submit it for US Senate ratification. Consequently, although it has observer status, the USA has never been a participant on the Court and considers that the jurisdiction of the ICC does not apply to US nationals. This has significantly undermined the authority of the Court. Under the Trump administration there was a US threat of prosecutions and financial sanctions on ICC judges and staff in US courts, as well as the imposition of visa bans in response to any investigation against US nationals in connection to alleged crimes and atrocities perpetrated by the USA in Afghanistan. The USA also threatened sanctions against any of the countries that have ratified the Court for cooperating in the process.

The ICC is “complementary” to municipal tribunals, which retain jurisdiction unless they are unable or unwilling genuinely to investigate and prosecute a crime. The principle of complementarity underpins the foundation of the Court in recognition of the responsibility that states have nationally to take measures internally that are consistent with international justice (Rome Statute Preamble; art 1). An incident may be referred to the ICC by the Security Council. Alternatively, a state party can refer a situation to the prosecutor, or the prosecutor can initiate an investigation on his or her own motion. If the prosecutor has determined that there is a reasonable basis to commence an investigation, he or she must inform all state parties and those states that would normally exercise jurisdiction over the alleged crime. Within one month, a state may inform the ICC that it is investigating, or has investigated, the alleged crimes. The prosecutor must defer to the state’s investigation unless the pre-trial judges of the ICC determine that the state is unwilling or unable genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution.

By means of the International Criminal Court Act 2001 British tribunals are empowered to try war crimes recognized by the Rome Statute. The Act enables UK investigative bodies to investigate and prosecute any ICC crimes committed in this country, or committed overseas by a UK national, a UK resident, or a person subject to UK services jurisdiction. It also permits the UK to reach an agreement with the ICC so that persons convicted can serve prison sentences in this country. In July 2005 three British soldiers who had served in Iraq were charged under the Act with “inhuman treatment of persons.” They were tried by courts martial in the UK. Up to the time of writing (2021) only 45 individuals have been indicted in the ICC; these include Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, former Sudanese president Omar-al-Bashir, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, and the Democratic Republic of Congo vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba. See also International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

• stirring up racial hatred
• stock
• Stock Exchange
• stock transfer
• stop notice
• stoppage in transitu
• stowaway
• Strategic Health Authorities
• street offence
• strict construction
• strict liability
• strict settlement
• strike
• strike out
• striking off
• structured settlement
• structure plan
• subdelegated legislation
• subject to contract
• sub judice rule
• sublease
• subletting
• submortgage
• sub nomine
• subordinate legislation