The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent international court that was established when the Rome Statute entered into force on July 1, 2002. The ICC is an independent entity that considers cases involving allegations of four core crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crime of aggression.
The seven core legal texts for the ICC include:
These core texts can be found on the ICC's website under Resource Library.
These commentaries contain article-by-article analysis of the Rome Statute, including citations to relevant jurisprudence, preparatory works, and other documents.
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, A Commentary by
"In the third edition of their much acclaimed commentary, Otto Triffterer, Kai Ambos and a number of eminent legal practitioners and scholars in the field of international criminal law give a detailed article-by-article analysis of the Statute, as well as the 'Elements of Crime' and the 'Rules of Procedure and Evidence' adopted by the Assembly of States Parties in 2002, and the 'Regulations of the Court'." - Publisher
The Rome Statute for an International Criminal Court by
"The International Criminal Court (ICC) officially came into existence in July 2002 following the 60th ratification of the Rome Statute, heralding a new era for the effective prosecution and punishment of serious violations of international humanitarian law - genocide, war crimes and crimesagainst humanity. This two volume Commentary takes a thematic look at the whole of international criminal law, appraising the contributions of international tribunals such as the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals and the ad hoc Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, as well as those of national courts. It re-examines thecase law developed by these courts and tribunals, establishes to what extent the Rome Statute codifies this body of law or instead departs from it, and makes a critical assessment of the Statute as a viable working tool for international criminal justice. A third volume contains the texts of theStatute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and Elements of Crimes. Written by an outstanding international team of experts under the general editorship of Antonio Cassese, Paola Gaeta, and John R.W.D. Jones, this timely companion to the burgeoning field of international criminal law will be of interest to international legal scholars, practitioners and judges, andto all those who are interested in the administration of international justice and the workings of international institutions.Antonio Cassese is the Editor of the Journal of International Criminal Justice." - Publisher
The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute by The most efficient strategy for finding cases is to find citations to particular documents in a commentary (see above) or other secondary sources and then retrieve the documents on the ICC's official website or through the Legal Tools Database. Lexsitus offers a helpful case-finding tool by providing access to an electronic commentary that links to case documents. Case law from the ICC is not available on either Westlaw or Lexis.
Travaux préparatoires consist of the drafting or negotiating history of a treaty that may be used to supplement the interpretation of a treaty when the meaning is ambiguous based on the plain text of the treaty.
The Legislative History of the International Criminal Court by
"This unique work is an article-by-article drafting history of the ICC Statute containing all versions of every article in the Statute as it evolved from 1994 to 1998. It also integrates in the Statute's provisions the "Elements of the Crimes" and the "Rules of Procedure and Evidence" adopted by the Preparatory Commission (1998-2000) and the Regulations of the Court adopted by the plenary of judges. A description of the ICC mechanisms and institutions precedes this article-by-article legislative history. Other relevant documents are also included, such as those concerning the privileges and immunities and financial regulations of the Court, as well as its relationship with the United Nations. This new edition contains the amendments adopted at the Kampala Conference, amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and the Regulations of the Court, and references to relevant case law cover ing the first decade of the Court's judicial activity. It also offers an insightful first-hand account of the drafting process both prior to and during the Rome Diplomatic Conference, along with a detailed historical survey of the efforts to establish the ICC. Government officials, judges, practitioners, and scholars seeking to interpret and understand the ICC Statute will find this publication unmatched for completeness and ease of use." - Publisher
The International Criminal Court: The Making of the Rome Statute--Issues, Negotiations, Results by
"'It was [. . .] an historic moment & certainly one of the finest moments in the history of the United Nations, when, finally, the Rome Statute creating such a permanent international criminal court was adopted on 17 July 1998 at the United Nations Conference in Rome, Italy. As I have stated before, this Court will be a gift of hope to future generations, its creation represents a giant step forward in the march towards universal human rights & the rule of law. It is therefore a fitting way to inaugurate the new millennium. This publication is a collective work by a group of persons closely associated with the actual making of the Rome Statute. It covers the substantive & procedural issues raised during the preparatory stages as well as the Conference. These active participants in the Conference provide an account of the main contentions on each of the key issues, the divergent approaches put forward by the principal proponents, how differences were resolved, how groups of articles were prepared, & how the final text as a whole was assembled. All the authors served certain key functions during the Conference, most of them chaired or co-ordinated the work of a committee, a working group or a negotiating body, all of which together produced the Statute. Their professional account of the work of the Conference makes this publication a unique resource for States contemplating ratification & preparing national implementation legislation. This book gives the insiders' reportage of the negotiations that culminated in this momentous Statute.'" - Publisher