The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague,Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide,crimes against humanity,war crimes and the crime of aggression. The ICC is distinct from the International Court of Justice,an organ of the United Nations that hears disputes between states.
Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes,crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as foreign nationals. Together with war crimes,genocide,and the crime of aggression,crimes against humanity are one of the core crimes of international criminal law,and like other crimes against international law have no temporal or jurisdictional limitations on prosecution.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome,Italy on 17 July 1998 and it entered into force on 1 July 2002. As of February 2024,124 states are party to the statute. Among other things,it establishes court function,jurisdiction and structure.
International criminal law (ICL) is a body of public international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetration. The core crimes under international law are genocide,war crimes,crimes against humanity,and the crime of aggression.
Andrew Thomas Cayley,,is an English and Welsh King's Counsel and is His Majesty's Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service having been appointed by the Attorney General of England and Wales,Suella Braverman MP,KC on 19 January 2021.
A preliminary examination of possible war crimes committed by United Kingdom (UK) military forces during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 was started by the ICC in 2005 and closed in 2006. The preliminary examination was reopened in 2014 in the light of new evidence.
The International Criminal Court has The International Criminal Court has opened investigations in Afghanistan,the Central African Republic,Côte d'Ivoire,Darfur in Sudan,the Democratic Republic of the Congo,Kenya,Libya,Uganda,Bangladesh/Myanmar,Palestine,the Philippines,and Venezuela. Additionally,the Office of the Prosecutor conducted preliminary examinations in situations in Bolivia,Colombia,Guinea,Iraq / the United Kingdom,Nigeria,Georgia,Honduras,South Korea,Ukraine and Venezuela. Preliminary investigations were closed in Gabon;Honduras;registered vessels of Comoros,Greece,and Cambodia;South Korea;and Colombia on events since 1 July 2002.
The states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are those sovereign states that have ratified,or have otherwise become party to,the Rome Statute. The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court,an international court that has jurisdiction over certain international crimes,including genocide,crimes against humanity,and war crimes that are committed by nationals of states parties or within the territory of states parties. States parties are legally obligated to co-operate with the Court when it requires,such as in arresting and transferring indicted persons or providing access to evidence and witnesses. States parties are entitled to participate and vote in proceedings of the Assembly of States Parties,which is the Court's governing body. Such proceedings include the election of such officials as judges and the Prosecutor,the approval of the Court's budget,and the adoption of amendments to the Rome Statute.
The International Criminal Court's founding treaty,the Rome Statute,provides that individuals or organizations may submit information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court. These submissions are referred to as "communications to the International Criminal Court".
Fatou Bom Bensouda is a Gambian lawyer and former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC),who has served as the Gambian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom since 3 August 2022.
Charles Ayodeji Adeogun-Phillips is a former United Nations genocide and war crimes prosecutor,international lawyer and founder of Charles Anthony (Lawyers) LLP.
Luis Moreno Ocampo is an Argentine lawyer who served as the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from 2003 to 2012. Previously,he had played a major role in Argentina's democratic transition (1983–1991).
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is the officer of the International Criminal Court whose duties include the investigation and prosecution of the crimes under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court,namely genocide,crimes against humanity and war crimes as well as the crime of aggression.
A preliminary examination by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to analyze possible crimes against humanity committed in Venezuela is currently open. A preliminary examination was previously opened in 2006,but closed after concluding that the requirements to start an investigation had not been met. In February 2018,the ICC announced that it would open preliminary probes into alleged crimes against humanity performed by Venezuelan authorities since at least April 2017. In 2020,the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC stated that it believed there was a "reasonable basis" to believe that "since at least April 2017,civilian authorities,members of the armed forces and pro-government individuals have committed the crimes against humanity",and on 2021 ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan announced the opening of an investigation regarding the situation in the country.
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC),Fatou Bensouda,on 20 December 2019 announced an investigation into war crimes allegedly committed in Palestine by Israeli personnel or members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups since 13 June 2014. The allegations include the establishing of illegal West Bank settlements and violations of the law of war by personnel of the Israeli Defence Forces during the 2014 Gaza War,including claims of targeting Red Cross installations. Members of armed Palestinian organizations,including Hamas,were accused of deliberately attacking Israeli civilians and using Palestinians as human shields. Israel is not a member of the ICC and disputes its jurisdiction on the basis that Palestine is not a sovereign state capable of being a party to the Rome Statute,and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly condemned the allegations and investigation. According to ICC chief prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan,suspected war crimes by Israelis on Palestinian territory and by Palestinians on Israeli territory during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war are within the jurisdiction of the Palestine investigation.
Victor P. Tsilonis,also known as Viktor P. Tsilonis,is the CEO and principal legal counsel of NEWLAW law firm,an international jurist,and was Greece's nominee for the 2020 judicial elections of the International Criminal Court,which is based in The Hague,Netherlands. He is also a member of the International Criminal Court Bar Association (ICCBA),currently serving as the Chairman of the ICCBA Professional Standards Advisory Committee,while formerly being ICCBA Vice President for Victims (2021-2022). In 2019-2020 he was also elected as a Vice President for Victims and served simultaneously as the Chairman of the Professional Standards Advisory Committee. Moreover,Tsilonis initially served a four-year term (2018–2022) as an elected ICC Disciplinary Board Alternate Member and has tried four disciplinary cases under this capacity,while now is a Member of the ICC Appeals Disciplinary Board (2023-2027).
The International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine or the Situation in Ukraine is an ongoing investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) into "any past and present allegations of war crimes,crimes against humanity or genocide committed on any part of the territory of Ukraine by any person" during the period starting "from 21 November 2013 onwards",on an "open-ended basis",covering the Revolution of Dignity,the Russo-Ukrainian War including the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia,the war in Donbas and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The ICC prosecutor commenced these investigations on 2 March 2022,after receiving referrals for the situation in Ukraine from 39 ICC State Parties.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine violated international law. The invasion has also been called a crime of aggression under international criminal law,and under some countries' domestic criminal codes –including those of Ukraine and Russia –although procedural obstacles exist to prosecutions under these laws.
The International Criminal Court opened a proprio motu investigation in the Situation in Georgia on 27 January 2016 to look into war crimes and crimes against humanity that may have occurred in and around South Ossetia in the context of an international armed conflict between Georgia and Russia between 1 July and 10 October 2008. The investigation phase was announced to have been completed on 16 December 2022. In the course of it,the three high-ranking officials in the Russian-backed South Ossetian government —remaining at large as of the time of the announcement —were subjected to arrest warrants for crimes committed against Georgian civilians. The fourth suspect,a senior Russian general,was not indicted as he had died in 2021.
On 17 March 2023,following an investigation of war crimes,crimes against humanity and genocide,the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin,the President of Russia,and Maria Lvova-Belova,Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights,alleging responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children during the Russo-Ukrainian War. The warrant against Putin is the first against the leader of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
