Jurisdiction And Powers Of International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is considered to be a court of last resort for the prosecution of serious international crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Over the years of its establishment, the importance of the International Criminal Court has increased manifold as human rights crises are on an all-time high. Keep reading to know in detail about the International Criminal Court, its powers and jurisdiction.

What is the International Criminal Court?

The International Criminal Court is an intergovernmental organisation and international tribunal situated in The Hague in the Netherlands. One of the most important features of the ICC is that it is established by a treaty and hence only the states that ratify the treaty can try cases at the International Criminal Court. The states are free to opt out of the treaty anytime. However, it is interesting to note that the UN Security Council has the power to refer cases to the International Criminal Court even where the states are not a part of the treaty.

How was the International Criminal Court established?

The International Criminal Court began functioning on July 1, 2002, when the Rome Statute, the ICC’s foundational and governing document entered into force. States which become party to the Rome Statute by ratifying it become member states of the ICC. As of March 2019, there are 124 ICC member states. 

Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court

As stated in the explanation earlier, the jurisdiction of the court extends to only those states which accept and are part of the treaty. Since it is an independent international and intergovernmental organisation, the jurisdiction needs to meet certain criteria and is of three types which are:-

1. Subject matter jurisdiction – The subject-matter jurisdiction means the crimes for which individuals can be prosecuted. The ICC can prosecute individuals for only those crimes that are listed in the Statute. The primary crimes listed in Article 5 of the Statute and defined in later Articles are – genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.
2. Territorial jurisdiction/ personal jurisdiction – For an individual to be prosecuted by the ICC either territorial jurisdiction or personal jurisdiction must exist. Therefore, an individual can only be prosecuted if he or she has either (1) committed a crime within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court or (2) committed a crime while a national of a state that is within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court.
3. Temporal jurisdiction – Temporal jurisdiction is the limitation period of the ICC within which it can exercise its powers. The Rome Statute does not apply any limitation period on any of the crimes defined in the Statute. However, individuals can only be prosecuted for crimes that took place on or after July 1, 2002, which is the date on which the Rome Statute entered into force.

Powers of International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court has the power to prosecute an individual charged with being wilfully and knowingly responsible for acts falling under the following four categories:

1. Genocide - Article 6 defines the crime of genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” There are five acts which constitute crimes of genocide under article 6:-

• Killing members of a group;
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
• Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
• Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
• Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

2. Crimes against humanity - Article 7 defines crimes against humanity as acts "committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack." Some of the crimes that are listed under the Article are - murder, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enslavement, etc.
3. War crimes - Article 8 defines war crimes depending on whether an armed conflict is either international or non-international. The Article provides a list of 74 crimes that constitute war crimes.
4. Crimes of aggression - The ICC has the power to prosecute personals who are willingly involved in crimes of aggression such as unauthorised use of the state’s military forces against the territorial sovereignty of another state. 

The ICC has the power to impose a maximum sentence of 30 years. However, in extreme cases, the Court may impose a term of life imprisonment.

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