IBA International Criminal Court and International Criminal Law (ICC & ICL) Programme
Our Work
The IBA International Criminal Court & International Criminal Law (ICC & ICL) Programme, based in The Hague, works to increase cooperation with and support for the ICC and other accountability efforts, with the goal of strengthening the Rome Statute system globally and achieving fair, effective, and accessible justice for victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression.
- We consult and engage with the Office of the Prosecutor, Presidency, and Registry of the ICC, with the independent Offices of Public Counsel for the Defence and Victims, and with the ICC Bar Association. We also consult with State representatives, civil society organisations, academics, and international lawyers. The IBA ICC & ICL Programme is the IBA's representative to official bodies of the ICC, including the Assembly of States Parties, and is the IBA's representative to the NGO Coalition for the ICC.
- We collaborate with key partners on activities to increase engagement of the global legal community with the ICC and on international law.
- We monitor and analyse emerging issues of particular relevance to lawyers. Our substantive work includes thematic legal analysis of proceedings, ad hoc evaluations of legal, administrative, and institutional issues which could potentially affect the development of international justice, and expert legal analysis on issues relevant to our mandate. Programme information is disseminated through reports, expert discussions, workshops and other events.
- We support the development of international criminal lawyers, through the annual IBA ICC Moot Court Competition, and through the ICC & ICL Legal Internship Programme.
Since its establishment in 2005, the IBA ICC & ICL Programme has contributed to the development of international criminal justice through monitoring and analysing issues related to fairness and equality of arms at the ICC, and through conducting outreach to deepen the understanding of the place of the ICC within the broader landscape of international justice and in particular contexts.
Latest news
Strengthening the International Criminal Court and the Rome Statute System: A Guide for States Parties (2nd Edition, October 2024)
Strengthening the ICC and the Rome Statute System: A Guide for States Parties provides detailed guidance and recommendations for all existing and future States Parties to fulfill their responsibilities and obligations in the Rome Statute and guarantee a stronger and more effective ICC.
Part 1 focuses on the role that all States Parties should play in ensuring the Assembly’s effective oversight of the ICC.
Part 2 calls on all States Parties to establish comprehensive and effective national frameworks to implement their individual obligations to investigate and prosecute Rome Statute crimes nationally, in accordance with the principle of complementarity, and to cooperate fully with the ICC’s judicial processes.
Part 3 examines the role that States Parties should play individually and collectively through the Assembly to promote the universal ratification of the Rome Statute, to ensure that all States Parties implement their responsibilities and obligations under the Rome Statute, and to protect the Court from political attacks.
The Guide has been structured to be a resource for representatives of States Parties, and other stakeholders, to support the effective functioning of the ICC, including through the development and regular review of effective national implementing legislation.
The second edition of the Guide for States Parties, published in October 2024, offers an updated set of recommendations for States Parties and the Assembly that takes into account the implementation of many of the recommendations of the Independent Expert Review of the ICC as well as the new Court and Assembly leadership, bringing fresh perspectives and strategies to advance the work of the Court.
No Arrests, No Trials, No Justice: A Strategic Framework for Strengthening the Efforts to Execute International Criminal Court Arrest Warrants (July 2025)
This report draws on the research and dialogue conducted by the ICC & ICL Programme to propose a strategic framework that incorporates and builds on current efforts to strengthen cooperation with and support for the enforcement of ICC arrest warrants.
The framework aims to provide a clear structure that will assist the ICC and the Assembly of States Parties in developing a comprehensive strategy that fully recognises the complexity of the challenges that the Court is facing and defines coordinated and multifaceted activities to promote arrest and surrender involving the Court, States Parties, intergovernmental organisations and civil society.
The strategic framework comprises six strategic goals that should provide the focus of an effective and comprehensive strategy:
- Goal 1: strengthen conditions at the ICC to encourage arrest and surrender
- Goal 2: strengthen the ICC’s capacity to track suspects and pursue arrests
- Goal 3: strengthen logistical and technical support for tracking, arrest and surrender
- Goal 4: strengthen political support for state cooperation
- Goal 5: strengthen responses to non-cooperation
- Goal 6: strengthen national laws to provide effective cooperation with arrest and surrender
IBA ICC Moot Court Competition
Since 2017 the IBA has partnered with Leiden University’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies to stage the IBA ICC Moot Court Competition, which attracts law students from across the globe to test and sharpen their skills for careers as international lawyers. As of 2021, a new five-year Memorandum of Understanding positions the IBA as the primary supporting partner of the event.
The IBA ICC & ICL Legal Internship Programme (The Hague)
The ICC & ICL Legal Internship Programme takes place at the IBA Hague office. Updates and any other information on how and when to apply can be found by clicking the button below. Intern positions are only available to graduate law students, postgraduate law students, and newly qualified lawyers.
There are no vacancies currently available.
ASP Special Session on the review of the amendments on the crime of aggression
A Special Session of the Assembly of States Parties was convened from 7-9 July 2025 to review the Rome Statute amendments on the crime of aggression agreed on during the 2010 Kampala Review Conference. The IBA was represented by the IBA ICC & ICL Programme.
The different jurisdictional regime established for the crime of aggression has become particularly evident after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The lack of an existing international mechanism that can try Russia’s top political and military leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, has necessitated discussions about an ad hoc mechanism, eventually resulting in the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. The IBA has strongly supported the creation of this Special Tribunal, in line with its position that the crime of aggression, as a core international crime, must not go unaddressed.
In advance of the ASP Special Session, the IBA ICC & ICL Programme issued a position paper calling on ICC States Parties to amend the conditions under which the ICC can exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression, with the aim of ensuring that the Court can investigate and prosecute acts of aggression effectively and in line with the Court’s jurisdiction over other Rome Statute core crimes. The Programme further called on all States Parties to ratify the amendments on the crime of aggression adopted by the ASP Special Session and to consider ratifying all Rome Statute amendments adopted so far without delay.
During the session, a large number of States Parties expressed support for amending the Rome Statute. Several other States Parties did not support the adoption of an amendment, requesting instead more time to discuss and agree on possible amendments. Almost all States Parties stressed the need for the Assembly to decide on the matter by consensus.
In the final resolution, Assembly committed to strengthening the jurisdiction of the Court over the crime of aggression and decided to convene another special ASP session in 2029 to examine the amendment proposals submitted so far and others that may be submitted in the future. The Assembly further decided to convene an intersessional meeting in 2027 to advance discussions.
The 23rd Assembly of States Parties
The 23rd session of the Assembly of States Parties took place from 2-6 December 2024 in The Hague, the Netherlands. The IBA was represented by the IBA ICC & ICL Programme.
In advance of the ASP, the IBA ICC & ICL Programme issued its briefing paper setting out Priorities and Recommendations for the 23rd ASP Session. The IBA presented these priorities and recommendations to ICC States Parties ahead of the Assembly session, and reiterated the recommendations during the ASP through direct engagement with key stakeholders.
The ICC & ICL Programme convened a panel discussion on 'Strengthening the ICC's Toolkit for Arrest and Surrender', co-hosted by Belgium, Finland, France, Poland, Senegal, South Africa, the Coalition for the ICC, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre. The event brough together States Party representatives, ICC officials, Practitioners and experts, and civil society organisations to discuss innovations and strategies for arest and surrender. The President of the Assembly of States PArties, H.E. Paivi Kaukoranta, delivered remarks during the event. The IBA ICC & ICL Programme shared with States Parties the second edition of the Programme publication 'Strengthening the International Criminal Court and the Rome Statute system: A Guide for States Parties', offering an updated set of recommendations for States PArties and the Assembly to fulfil their responsibilities and obligations under the Rome Statute.
The ICC & ICL Programme co-hosted a side event on 'Financial Accountability at the International Criminal Court: Are States ready to comply with ICC Asset Recovery Requests?' with Redress, and further co-hosted a side event on 'Gender Justice: Avenues for Ensuring Accountability for Gender-Based Crimes in Afghanistan' together with the IBA Human Rights Institute and other partner organisations.
Read our news release on the conclusion of the ASP session.
