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1.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization
and international tribunal that is situated in The Hague in Netherland. The ICC has
the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide,
crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The ICC is intended to complement
existing national judicial systems and it may therefore only exercise its jurisdiction
when certain conditions are met, such as when national courts are unwilling or
unable to prosecute criminals or when the United Nations Security Council or
individual states refer investigations to the Court.
2.
The ICC began functioning on 1 July 2002, the date that the Rome Statute
entered into force. The Rome Statute is a multilateral treaty which serves as the
ICC's foundational and governing document. Currently, there are 123 states which
are party to the Rome Statute and therefore members of the ICC.
3.
International criminal court established to help end impunity for the
perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.
an independent international organisation, and is not part of the United Nations
system.
4.
The ICC is a court of last resort. It will not act if a case is investigated or
prosecuted by a national judicial system unless the national proceedings are not
genuine, for example if formal proceedings were undertaken solely to shield a
person from criminal responsibility.
Party
Signatory that has not ratified
Non state party, non signatory
History
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5.
The establishment of an international tribunal to judge political leaders
accused of international crimes was first proposed during the Paris Peace
Conference in 1919. The issue was addressed again at a conference held in
Geneva in 1937, which resulted in the first convention stipulating the establishment
of a permanent international court to try acts of international terrorism and was
signed by 13 states, but none ratified it and the convention never entered into
force. Following the Second World War, the allied powers established two ad hoc
tribunals to prosecute axis power leaders accused of war crimes. The
International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg and Tokyo.
6.
In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly first recognized the need for a
permanent international court to deal with atrocities. At the request of the General
Assembly, the International Law Commission (ILC) drafted two statutes by the
early 1950s but these were shelved during the Cold War, which made the
establishment of an international criminal court politically unrealistic. The UNSC
established two ad hoc tribunals in early 1990s. The International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia in 1993 and for Rwanda in 1994, further highlighted the
need for a permanent international criminal court.
7.
In 1994, the ILC presented its final draft statute for the ICC to the General
Assembly. From 1996 to 1998, six sessions of the Preparatory Committee were
held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Finally a conference
was convened in Rome in June 1998, with the aim of finalizing Court's statute. On
17 July 1998, the Rome Statue of ICC was adopted by a vote of 120 to 7. The
seven countries that voted against the treaty were China, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Qatar,
The United States, and Yemen. The Rome Statute entered into force on 1 July
2002 and the International Criminal Court was formally established. The first
bench of 18 judges was elected by the Assembly of States Parties in February
2003. They were sworn in at the inaugural session of the Court on 11 March 2003.
Structure
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8.
The ICC is governed by an Assembly of States Parties, which is made up
of the states which are party to the Rome Statute. The Assembly elects officials of
the Court, approves its budget, and adopts amendments to the Rome Statute.
The Court itself is composed of four organs:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
9.
The Presidency
The Judicial Divisions
The Office of the Prosecutor
The Registry.
10.
Presidency
(i)
Responsible for the proper administration of the Court (apart
from the Office of the Prosecutor).
(ii) Comprises the President and the First and Second VicePresidents, three judges of the Court who are elected to the
Presidency by their fellow judges for a max of two three-year terms.
(iii) The current (and first female) president is Silvia Fernndez
de Gurmendi, who was elected on 11 March 2015.
(b)
Judicial Divisions
(i)
The Judicial Divisions consist of the 18 judges of the Court,
organized into three chambersthe Pre-Trial Chamber, Trial
Chamber and Appeals Chamber which carry out the judicial functions
of the Court.
(ii) Judges are elected to the Court by the Assembly of States
Parties. They serve nine-year terms and are not generally eligible for
re-election.
(iii) All judges must be nationals of states parties to the Rome
Statute, and no two judges may be nationals of the same state. They
must be "persons of high moral character, impartiality and integrity who
possess the qualifications required in their respective States for
appointment to the highest judicial offices".
(iv) The removal of a judge requires both a two-thirds majority of the
other judges and a two-thirds majority of the states parties.
(c)
aid
Registry
(i)
Responsible for the non-judicial aspects of the administration
and servicing of the Court which includes the administration of legal
matters, court management, victims and witnesses matters, defense
counsel, detention unit, and the traditional services provided by
administrations in international organizations, such as finance,
translation, building management, procurement and personnel".
(ii) The Registry is headed by the Registrar, who is elected by the
judges to a five-year term. The current Registrar is Herman von
Hebel, who was elected on 8 March 2013.
13.
14.
October 2014. On 3 December 2014, ICC Trial Chamber V(b) rejected the
Prosecutions request for further adjournment.
17. Situation In Libya
On 26 February 2011, the United Nations Security
Council refer the situation in Libya since 15 February 2011 to the ICC Prosecutor.
On 3 March 2011, the ICC Prosecutor announced his decision to open an
investigation in the situation in Libya. On 27 June 2011, Pre-Trial Chamber I issued
three warrants of arrest respectively for Muammar Mohammed
Abu
Minyar
Gaddafi, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Senussi for crimes against
humanity. On 22 November 2011, case was terminated against Muammar Gaddafi
due to his death. On 21 May 2014, the ICC Appeals Chamber confirmed the
decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I declaring the case against Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi
admissible. On 24 July 2014, the Appeals Chamber unanimously confirmed PreTrial Chamber I's decision, declaring the case against Abdullah Al-Senussi
inadmissible before the ICC.
LEGAL JOURNAL
(a) The Rome Statute
(b) The Rules of Procedure and Evidence
(c) The Elements of Crimes
(d) The Regulations of the Court
(e) The Regulations of the Office of the Prosecutor
(f)
The Regulations of the Registry
(g) The Code of Judicial Ethics
(h) Staff rules of the International Criminal Court
(j)
The Staff Regulations
(k) The Financial Regulations and Rules
(l)
The Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International
Criminal Court
(m) Agreement between the International Criminal Court and the United
Nations
(n) The Headquarters Agreement with the Host State
19.
LEGAL TOOLS
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(a) Aspires to equip users with the legal information, digests and software
required to work effectively with international criminal law. Serves as a
complete virtual library on international criminal law and justice. The
Tools comprise the largest online collection of relevant documents and legal
digests available through the Case Matrix application.
(b) 13 legal documents are included, along with four legal research and
reference tools developed by lawyers connected with the Court and external
partners, The Case Matrix, the Elements Digest, the Proceedings Digest and
the Means of Proof Digest.
(c) The Tools comprise the online "Legal Tools Database". It does not
necessarily represent views of the ICC, any of its Organs or any participant
in proceedings before the ICC or any of the ICC States Parties.
(d) The Legal Tools Database is made freely available through
www.legal-tools.org. Additionally, criminal jurisdictions, counsel and NGOs
that work on core international crimes cases may seek to have access
to the Case Matrix.
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Conclusion
32. International criminal Court can help to establish reliability in the principles of
humanity and foster the feeling of security and welfare as well as finding a
common sense of justice. Finding, censuring, and punishing the responsible
persons has a pacifying effect on both the victims and society as a whole. It may
well be noted, that the party of the convicted will have feelings of resentment and
promise revenge at the next possible time.
33. The world is at the beginning of creating suitable measures to bring about
justice in the case of massive human rights violations. The establishing of the ICC
is no doubt a major step in the right direction. With regards to the numerous
conflicts that still evolve every day in every corner of the world, the implementation
of international criminal justice by a group of like-minded states seems almost
miserable. Even these modest and early glimmerings of international criminal
justice may be dramatic and transformative.
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Bibliography
34.
www.icc-cpi.int
35.
en.wikipidea.org
36.
acontrarioicl.com
37.
councilandcourt.org
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REMARKS OF DC & CI
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REMARKS OF COMMANDANT
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