Dag Hammarskjöld Library at Uppsala University
International Criminal Court (ICC)
- © United Nations
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the United Nations realized the need to establish an international permanent court for the prosecution of serious crimes against humanity. Since then the issue has been discussed off and on at the UN.
Following years of negotiations, the concept began to take serious shape. In 1994, the International Law Commission submitted a draft statute for an international criminal court to the General Assembly, and in 1998, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was adopted by the international community. When the Statute entered into force in July 2002, it was considered a landmark in international justice. A permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression had been created.
The International Criminal Court is not a UN body but an independent organization with its relationship to the UN governed by a separate agreement. The Court has 18 judges elected for nine year terms and representing the principal legal systems and the regions of the world as well as a balanced gender distribution.
According to the Rome Statute cases can come to the attention of the Court in three different ways:
- The Court's Prosecutor can initiate an investigation
- States which have ratified the Rome Statute may ask the Prosecutor to investigate a situation
- The UN Security Council may ask the Prosecutor to investigate a situation
The International Criminal Court is based in the Hague but its proceedings may take place anywhere.
Documentation
The official web site of the International Criminal Court provides background information on the structure and work
of the Court, news and press releases and full text session documents and reports.
Before the Court was established, the preparatory work was administered by the UN Secretariat. Therefore, the earlier web site of the International Criminal Court with historical information and background documents is posted at the UN official web site, section International Law.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court with ratification status can be accessed from the earlier
web site.
The session documents from the Assembly of States Parties are posted at the official web site of the International Criminal Court.
Yearbook of the United Nations provides an overview of the work of the International Criminal Court with a subject index. A complete collection of yearbooks is held by the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, Uppsala, and the UN Libraries in New York and Geneva. Since October 2008 the complete full text collection of The United Nations Yearbooks is available online at http://unyearbook.un.org/.
Databases and Indexes
The UN Library online catalogue UNBISnet contains reports, documents and articles related to the International Criminal Court with links to full texts. Subject search can be performed using relevant terms from the UNBIS THESAURUS.
Printed Indexes