July 17th is World Day for International Criminal Justice
On July 17, it will be 27 years since the adoption of the Rome Statute. On July 1, 2002, the Rome Statute went into effect, thereby creating the International Criminal Court, also known as the ICC. The ICC has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression.
For World Day for International Criminal Justice, celebrated every year on July 17, there are several themes. The day is meant to unite all those who wish to support justice, promote victims’ rights, and help prevent crimes that threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world.
What is the International Criminal Court?
The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over cases involving war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and aggression. The ICC is separate from the United Nations, but the two organizations work closely together. Indeed, one way cases can end up before the ICC is when they are referred by the UN Security Council. Otherwise, cases must have taken place in the territory of a party state or committed by a national of a party state. Notably, except for the crime of aggression, the ICC can only prosecute individuals but not states or organizations.
The Rome Statute also defines the procedures for investigations, prosecutions, and trials. However, the ICC only can hear cases if the crime was committed after July 1, 2002, when the Rome Statute came into effect. The Rome Statute also addresses issues such as admissibility and applicable law, trials, penalties, appeal and revision, international cooperation and judicial assistance, and enforcement.
Regarding immunity, the ICC only recognizes one type – the court cannot prosecute those under 18 when the crime was committed. As such, even officials such as heads of state can be prosecuted by the ICC.
In terms of locations, International Court of Justice is housed inside the Peace Palace in The Hague. Additionally, there are criminal tribunals and other international courts in other locations in the world. As of 2025, there are 125 countries who have signed on to the Rome Statute. Notably, the United States is not a party state.
Crimes Prosecuted by the International Criminal Court
Genocide means an act committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. In particular, those specified acts are killing members of a group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of a group, imposing measures intended to prevent births within a group, or forcibly transferring children of a group to another group.
Crimes against humanity include acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. Included in the list of prohibited acts are murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer of a population, imprisonment, torture, acts of sexual violence, enforced sterilization, and other acts.
War crimes include grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict and in conflicts not of an international character listed in the Rome Statute, when they are committed as part of a plan or policy or on a large scale. Specifically prohibited are murder, mutilation, torture, taking of hostages, acts of sexual violence, creating child soldiers, and attacks on civilians, hospitals, and houses of worship.
Lastly, aggression refers to the planning, preparation, initiation or execution of an act of using armed force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another state. For this offense, this may include invasion, military occupation, and annexation by the use of force, blockade of the ports or coasts, if such an act is a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations. Additionally, the perpetrator must be a person who is in a position from which he or she can control or direct the political or military action of a state.
References:
- International Criminal Court, Understanding the International Criminal Court; available at: https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/Publications/understanding-the-icc.pdf (last accessed July 8, 2025).
- United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/rome-statute-international-criminal-court (last accessed July 8, 2025).
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