ROME STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

The 'Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court' (or 'Rome Statute') is the treaty which established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It sets out the Court's jurisdiction, structure and functions and it provides for its entry into force 60 days after 60 States have become party to it. It was opened for signature on July 17, 1998 and entered into force on July 1, 2002 as the 60th instrument of ratification was deposited with the Secretary General on 11 April 2002, when 10 countries simultaneously deposited their instruments of ratification. Any perpetrator of a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court, committed after this date, is liable to prosecution. As of November 2006, 104 states are party to the Statute.^[1]
Since it is a treaty that establishes an international court, it is called a Statute (note this is a different usage of the word "statute" from that commonly used in law.)
The Statute provides for the ICC to have jurisdiction over three main classes of offences: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The treaty establishing the court gives a specific definition of ''genocide'' in Article 6, a list of ''crimes against humanity'' in Article 7, a lengthy and detailed list of ''war crimes'' in Article 8. The Statute also provides for the court to have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression, but only once a definition for that crime has been adopted by an amendment to the Statute.^[2]
According to an ICC press release, the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC may adopt such a definition at a review conference scheduled for 2009.^[3]
The People's Republic of China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar, the United States and Yemen voted against the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998. Israel, the United States and Yemen signed the statute at the end of 2000. The United States refuses to participate because it fears that "its soldiers and government officials could be subjected to politicized prosecutions."^[4]

Contents

United States position

See also

Further reading

References

United States position

Main articles: United States and the International Criminal Court

President Bill Clinton signed the statute in 2000, but stated that he did not intend to request its ratification until several changes were made. On May 6, 2002, the Bush Administration informed the United Nations Secretary-General that "the United States does not intend to become a party to the treaty. Accordingly, the United States has no legal obligations arising from its signature on December 31 2000." This was widely described as "unsigning" the treaty or "withdrawing" the United States' signature,^[5] although the United States in its letter did not use that terminology. The United Nations has not removed the name of the United States from the official list of signatories.^[6]
However, the statute does enjoy some support in the United States. Democratic Party 2008 United States Presidential candidate John Edwards has stated his intent to re-sign the statute and promote its ratification if elected[6]

See also

★ Command responsibility

★ International Criminal Court

★ States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

★ Völkerstrafgesetzbuch

Further reading

★ Official website

★ Article 98

References

1. ICC list of signatories
2. Part 2. Jurisdiction, admissibility and applicable law: Article 5 Crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court, Paragraph 2
3. Page 4: Jurisdiction of the ICC: Section: The Crime of Aggression (pdf)
4. United States Defends Position on International Criminal Court
5. See, for example, [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
6. UN Signature list - contains official US communication concerning 'withdrawal' of signature