SOURCE Available from http://www.un.org/law.

INTRODUCTION The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was adopted on July 17, 1998, and entered into force on July 1, 2002, following the sixtieth ratification. The Statute creates the first permanent international criminal tribunal with jurisdiction over genocide and crimes against humanity. There had been proposals for an international court since the mid-nineteenth century, and some successful efforts to establish such a body, but on an ad hoc basis. The Nuremberg court, used to judge the Nazi leaders, is the first such example. Parties to the Rome Statute agree to subject their territory, and their citizens, to the jurisdiction of the International Court. If the courts of these countries fail to render justice themselves, the International Court is entitled to intervene and prosecute the crimes...