The International Criminal Court.

• Position: Hate, Genocide and Human Rights Fifty Years Later: What Have We Learned? What Must We Do ? - Transcript

The speaker reviews the major provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. He recognizes the limitations of the statute. Given the concerns raised by a number of states, the goals of a strong statute and strong support from the international community could not be fully reconciled. Nevertheless, the Rome Statute contains sufficient safeguards to satisfy most legitimate concerns. Only time will tell whether the drafters struck an appropriate balance. For supporters of the International Criminal Court, it is important that the Court become a living institution as soon as possible. Widespread signature and ratification are critical to this end. Broad ratification is particularly significant because of the statute's legal implications at the domestic level. The creation of the Court responds to objectives to punish criminals responsible for the most serious crimes in international law, to deter such crimes, to create greater international stability by restoring the rule of law in countries affected by conflicts and crimes, and to do so through a permanent institution. It is valuable to view the Court and other instruments such as ad hoc tribunals in a broad international landscape.

L'auteur passe en revue les dispositions les plus importantes du Statut de la Cour penale internationale, en reconnaissant les limites inherentes a cet instrument. Les inquietudes mises de l'avant par de nombreux Etats ont rendu impossible d'atteindre a la fois un large support de la part de la communaute internationale et un texte aussi ferme que ce qu'on aurait pu souhaiter. Le Statut de Rome contient toutefois des dispositions suffisantes a satisfaire la plupart des aspirations legitimes ; le temps nous apprendra si les redacteurs ont a cet egard atteint un equilibre viable. Il est important pour ceux qui appuient l'idee d'une Cour penale internationale de faire en sorte qu'elle se concretise en tant qu'institution > le plus rapidement possible. L'objectif d'obtenir un maximum de signatures, et surtout de ratifications (etant donne les consequences significatives du Statut sur le plan du droit interne), revet une importance particuliere a cet egard. La creation de la Cour repond a plusieurs objectifs : la punition de ceux qui se rendent responsables des crimes les plus serieux contre le droit international, la dissuasion de ces crimes, le renforcement de la stabilite internationale a travers la restauration de l'Etat de droit dans les pays affectes par des conflits, et, finalement, la realisation de ces objectifs par l'entremise d'une institution permanente. La Cour et les instruments auxiliaires, tels les tribunaux ad hoc, doivent donc etre consideres comme parties integrantes d'un large eventail d'institutions internationales.

1. Overview of the Rome Statute

2. Reflections on the Rome Statute

3. Prospects for the Future

4. The Court and the International Environment

   I very much welcome the opportunity the organizers of this important conference have given me today to offer some thoughts on the future of the ICC [International Criminal Court; "Court"]. Before doing so, however, it may be of interest to quickly review the major provisions of the Rome Statute, (1) how it was shaped, and how it is intended to function.

1. Overview of the Rome Statute

   1. First, there must be a crime of international concern, namely genocide, a crime against humanity, or a war crime. The crime of aggression is also included, but has yet to be defined. The definitions of crimes are based on customary international law. The...