About the ICC

The Facts:

• The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an international court that prosecutes some of the worst cases of criminal activity, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
• The Rome Statute is an international treaty that states the conditions and rules of the ICC. By signing and ratifying the Rome Statute, a country demonstrates its acknowledgment of the jurisdiction of the ICC.
• After five weeks of negotiations on the Rome Statute, 120 countries voted to adopt it. Only seven countries voted against the treaty, including China, Russia, Israel, and the United States, while 21 countries abstained.
• The ICC came into force July 1, 2002.
• The ICC can prosecute cases when:
  1. A crime has been committed by a state that has ratified the Rome Statute.
  2. An individual has committed a crime in a state that has ratified the Rome Statute.
  3. A crime is committed in a state that has not ratified the Rome Statute, but has accepted the court's jurisdiction over the committed crime.
  4. A crime has been committed in a situation that threatens international security or peace.
• The ICC is funded by each of the countries that have ratified the Rome Statute. The amount that each country pays toward the funding of the ICC is determined by the wealth of that country.