Section 16p. 16

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW COMPENDIUM VOLUME I

Emphasizing

that

the

International

Criminal

Court

established under this Statute shall be complementary to

national criminal jurisdictions,

Resolved

to

guarantee

lasting

respect

for

and

the

enforcement of international justice,

Have agreed as follows

PART 1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COURT

ARTICLE 1

The Court

An International Criminal Court ("the Court") is hereby

established. It shall be a permanent institution and shall

have the power to exercise its jurisdiction over persons for

the most serious crimes of international concern, as

referred to in this Statute, and shall be complementary to

national

criminal

jurisdictions.

The

jurisdiction

and

functioning

of

the

Court shall be governed by the

provisions of this Statute.

ARTICLE 2

Relationship of the Court with the United Nations

The Court shall be brought into relationship with the

United Nations through an agreement to be approved by

the

Assembly

of

States

Parties to this Statute and

thereafter concluded by the President of the Court on its

behalf.

ARTICLE 3

Seat of the Court

1. The seat of the Court shall be established at The Hague

in the Netherlands ("the host State").

2. The Court shall enter into a headquarters agreement

with the host State, to be approved by the Assembly of

States Parties and thereafter concluded by the President

of the Court on its behalf.

3. The Court may sit elsewhere, whenever it considers it

desirable, as provided in this Statute.

ARTICLE 4

Legal status and powers of the Court

1. The Court shall have international legal personality. It

shall also have such legal capacity as may be necessary

for the exercise of its functions and the fulfilment of its

purposes.

2. The Court may exercise its functions and powers, as

provided in this Statute, on the territory of any State Party

and, by special agreement, on the territory of any other

State.

PART 2. JURISDICTION, ADMISSIBILITY AND

APPLICABLE LAW

ARTICLE 5

Crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court

1. The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most

serious crimes of concern to the international community

as a whole. The Court has jurisdiction in accordance with

this Statute with respect to the following crimes:

(a) The crime of genocide;

(b) Crimes against humanity;

(c) War crimes;

(d) The crime of aggression.

2. The Court shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of

aggression once a provision is adopted in accordance

with articles 121 and 123 defining the crime and setting

out the conditions under which the Court shall exercise

jurisdiction with respect to this crime. Such a provision

shall be consistent with the relevant provisions of the

Charter of the United Nations.

ARTICLE 6

Genocide

For the purpose of this Statute, "genocide" means any of

the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in

whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious

group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of

the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life

calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole

or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within

the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another

group.

ARTICLE 7

Crimes against humanity

1.

For

the

purpose

of

this

Statute,

"crime

against

humanity"

means

any

of

the

following

acts

when

committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack

directed against any civilian population, with knowledge

of the attack:

(a) Murder;

(b) Extermination;

(c) Enslavement;

(d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population;

(e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical

liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international

law;

(f) Torture;

(g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced

pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of

sexual violence of comparable gravity;

(h)

Persecution

against

any

identifiable

group

or

collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural,

religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other

grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible

under international law, in connection with any act

referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the

jurisdiction of the Court;

(i) Enforced disappearance of persons;

(j) The crime of apartheid;

(k)

Other

inhumane

acts

of

a

similar

character

intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to

body or to mental or physical health.

© Compiled by RGL

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