The International Criminal Court (ICC) (2024)

FAQs

How many people has the ICC found guilty? ›

The ICC has indicted more than forty individuals, nearly all from African countries. Twenty-one people have been detained in The Hague, ten have been convicted of crimes, and four have been acquitted. There have been thirty-one cases before the ICC.

Two of these hindrances are that: firstly, the ICC has been accused of only targeting the African continent; and secondly, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute) has no enforcement mechanism against the state parties who refuse to cooperate with the court.

The powers of the ICC

The ICC may only exercise its jurisdiction if the national court is unable or unwilling to do so. The ICC only has jurisdiction over offences committed after the Statute's entry into force on 1 July 2002.

The International Criminal Court can only intervene where a State is unable or unwilling to genuinely carry out the investigation and prosecute the perpetrators.

Incompatibility with the U.S. Constitution

United States participation in the ICC treaty regime would also be unconstitutional because it would allow the trial of U.S. citizens for crimes committed on U.S. soil, which are otherwise entirely within the judicial power of the United States.

Although the Court's expenses are funded primarily by States Parties, it can also receive voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations and other entities.

In the immediate term, Biden's decision means that the U.S. government can now actively support the ICC's Ukraine investigation, regardless of which specific individuals the Court investigates.

At the same time, this research does not suggest the ICC expresses no judicial bias against other countries. For example, developing countries have long criticized the Court for disproportionately pursuing cases against them.

On the other hand, China, India, Israel, Turkey, Pakistan, Russia, among 60 other countries, are those who openly reject the interference of the ICC in their territories.

There are limited situations in which the ICC has jurisdiction over the nationals of countries such as the US that have not joined the Rome Statute. This includes when a citizen of a non-member country commits war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide on the territory of an ICC member country.

Is the ICC politicized? ›

The various situations demonstrate the fundamental dilemma of the court: that of the difference between its legal mandate and the politicized reality. While the ICC was established as an impartial court, its possibilities to act are in reality limited and shaped by political interests.

The ICC Detention Centre is located within a Dutch prison complex in Scheveningen - on the outskirts of The Hague. It functions to hold in safe, secure and humane custody those persons detained under the authority of the ICC.

Perhaps the most controversial component of the ICC's jurisdiction is its ability to prosecute “crimes of aggression.” As defined by Article 9 of the Rome Statute, an “act of aggression” entails “the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State, ...

2 working languages: English and French. Headquarters: The Hague, the Netherlands. There have thus far been 31 cases before the Court, with some cases having more than one suspect.

MYTH: The Court threatens sovereignty because it claims jurisdiction over citizens of countries, like the United States, that haven't ratified its treaty. FACT: The Court will have no jurisdiction over crimes committed on U.S. soil unless the United States ratifies its treaty.

There are limited situations in which the ICC has jurisdiction over the nationals of countries, such as the US, that have not joined the Rome Statute. This includes when a citizen of a non-member country commits war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide on the territory of an ICC member country.

Alfredo Astiz (born 1951), Argentine commando convicted of kidnapping and torture. Jorge Rafael Videla (1925–2013), President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981, found guilty of multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Dirty War and sentenced to life in prison.

peacekeeping operations to missions where the President certifies U.S. troops may participate without risk of prosecution by the ICC because the Security Council has permanently exempted U.S. personnel from prosecution for activity conducted as participants,⁵¹ or because each other country in which U.S. personnel will ...