Structure of the ICC
The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established by the Rome Statute of 1998 and its jurisdiction commenced on 1 July 2002. It is a permanent tribunal mandated to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Court will ultimately have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression but will not exercise such jurisdiction until aggression has been further defined by the States Parties. This is expected to be achieved by 2009 when a review conference of the Rome Statute will take place. The ICC can only try nationals of States that have ratified the treaty or crimes that have taken place on the territories of governments that have ratified, apart from in the case of a Security Council referral. The ICC only has jurisdiction over crimes committed after the entry into force of its Statute, that is 1 July 2002.
The Court operates under the principle of complementarity - this means that the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute crimes on serious international concern remains with national prosecutors and Courts. The Court may only step in and deal with crimes in its jurisdiction where the national system fails to do so and where a State shows itself to be unable or unwilling to prosecute such crimes.
The ICC is composed of four organs the Presidency, the Registry, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) and the Assembly of State Parties.
The Presidency
The Presidency is headed by the President and First and Second Vice-Presidents, who are elected by an absolute majority of the 18 judges of the Court for a three-year period which is renewable. The current President of the Court is Judge Philippe Kirsch. The judges are allocated to serve on a full-time basis in the different chambers of the Court (Pre-Trial, Trial and Appellate). The Presidency is responsible for the proper administration of the Court, although the OTP is an independent office, and as such is not administered by, but coordinates with, Presidency, as necessary.
The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP)
The Office of the Prosecutor is headed by a Chief Prosecutor, who is elected by the Assembly of States Parties. The current incumbent is Mr Luis Moreno Ocampo, who took office on 16 June 2003. The Chief Prosecutor is assisted by two Deputy Prosecutors. The OTP is independent of other organs of the Court but coordinates its activities with other parts of the Court as necessary. The mandate of the OTP is to conduct investigations and prosecutions of crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the Court as mentioned above.
The Registry
The Registry is responsible for the non-judicial aspects of the administration and servicing of the Court and is headed by the Registrar, Mr. Bruno Cathala who was appointed on 24 June 2003. The Registry is responsible for the administration of legal aid, court management, victims and witnesses matters, defence counsel, detention unit, and other general administrative matters such as finance, translation, building management, procurement and personnel.
The Assembly of States Parties (ASP)
The Assembly consists of all States which are party to the Rome Statute. The ASP has a Bureau composed of a President, two Vice-Presidents and 18 members. It also has several smaller working groups that meet throughout the year to discuss in more detail issues such as the definition of the crime of aggression. It has a Secretariat based at the Court in the Hague. The ASP meets in plenary session at least once a year in the Hague and/or New York.
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Method of Referral
Countries ratifying the Rome Statute grant it authority to try their citizens for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Cases may be referred to the Court by States Parties or the Security Council, or the Prosecutor may initiate an investigation on his own initiative, subject to the approval of the Pre-trial Chamber of the Court. In addition, a country that is not a State Party may voluntarily choose to accept the ICC's jurisdiction. The Security Council has the power to suspend investigations for renewable periods of 12 months, if it decides an ICC investigation may interfere with the SC mandate to maintain international peace and security.
Situations Considered by the OTP
A total of ten situations have been analysed by the OTP, three proceeded to investigation, two were dismissed (Iraq and Venezuela) and a further five are still under analysis, including the Central African Republic (pursuant to a State Party referral) and the Cote d’Ivoire (pursuant to a declaration of acceptance of jurisdiction from a non-State party). The identities of remaining three countries from among this group of five are currently confidential.
Three situations are currently being investigated by the Office of the Prosecutor and are the subject of pre-trial proceedings: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and the Sudan.
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