For
over 80 years, the idea of an international criminal court and
efforts to create it have been in existence.
The
ICC was finally established by the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court on July 17, 1998,
when 120 States participating in the United Nations Diplomatic
Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International
Criminal Court adopted the Statute.
Historical
Timeline from the Department
of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT)
World Wars I and II
1919 - An International Criminal Court is mandated in the Treaty
of Versailles.
Article 227
of the treaty mandates that a special tribunal be established
to try
Wilhelm II (the former German Emperor) for "a supreme
offence against international morality and the sanctity of
treaties." The
tribunal was to consist of judges from the United States, Great
Britain, France, Italy and Japan. Following
the end of World War I, the Commission on the Responsibility
of the
Authors of the War and on the Enforcement of Penalties concludes
that an international court should be established. The Commission
recommends that an international court be created to punish
those "belonging
to enemy countries, however high their position may have been ...
including Chiefs of States, who had been guilty of offences against
the laws and customs of war or the laws of humanity." The
Court was established but failed due to a lack of cooperation
on the part of countries where indictees had been found to
surrender
them to the Court.
1937 - A Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Terrorism
and a Convention for the Creation of an international
criminal court are
adopted. However, neither Convention entered into force as
the
Terrorism Convention received only one ratification and the Criminal
Court
Convention none.
1939 - World War II Begins
1943 - The United Nations War Crimes Commission is established. Nations
deliberating war crimes toward the end of World War II conclude the
Moscow Declaration of 1943. As a result of the Declaration, the
War Crimes Commission is established and meets in London during 1944
to prepare lists of war criminals and decide on ways of dealing with
them effectively.
1945 - Nuremburg Trials. An agreement is reached to establish
an International Military Tribunal to try alleged Nazi
war criminals in Nuremberg following
World War II. The
product of extensive multilateral negotiations, the London Agreement
created
the International Military Tribunal known as the "Nuremberg
Tribunal." The Nuremberg Tribunal is given jurisdiction over
crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Twenty-four Nazis
are indicted by the Tribunal and 22 are eventually tried.
1940s
1946 -
An International
Congress meeting in Paris calls for an international criminal court. Given
the precedent of Nuremberg, an International Congress is convened in
Paris calling
for the adoption of an international criminal code prohibiting
crimes against humanity and the prompt establishment of an International
Criminal Court. The Congress also calls for the adoption of an
International Criminal Code that would prohibit crimes against
humanity. The
UN General Assembly establishes a Committee and mandates it to codify
the
principles that were recognized in the Charter and judgment of
the Nuremberg Tribunal. The
Committee on the Progressive Development of International Law and its
Codification,
formed at the General Assembly's first session, is asked to work
on this project as "a matter of primary importance." The
Committee is the precursor of the International
Law Commission
(ILC).
The Allied Powers of World War II establish the International Military
Tribunal for the Far East to prosecute Japanese war criminals.
The UN General Assembly affirms the Principles of International Law recognized
by the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal.
1948 - The UN General
Assembly adopts the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of Genocide. Article
VI of the Genocide Convention provides for alleged criminals to "be
tried by a competent tribunal of the State in the territory of
which the act was committed or by such international tribunal as
may have jurisdiction." Members of the
UN General Assembly ask the International Law Commission (ILC)
to study the possibility of establishing an international criminal
court.
1949 - The ILC begins to draft statute for an international
criminal court.
1949 - The UN
General Assembly appoints 17 experts to prepare a draft statute
for an international criminal court. The ILC spends
from 1949 - 1954 trying to draft statutes for an ICC but opposition
on both sides of the Cold War hinders progress and the UN General
Assembly effectively abandons the effort pending the definition
of aggression and the development of a Code of International Crimes.
Cold War
1954 - Cold War. Attempts
to draft a statute for an international criminal court falter due
to lack of agreement on a definition of the crime of aggression. A draft Code
of International Crimes is produced and adopted by the ILC. Called
the Draft
Code of Offences against the Peace and Security of Mankind,
the document represents the first project of the enumeration of
crimes to be recognized by all nations. The Draft Code is primarily
a list of crimes (including the crime of aggression, for which
no definition is provided), but does mention the negation of Head
of State immunity, command responsibility and the liability of
individuals for international crimes.
1974 - The UN General Assembly passes a resolution to
adopt a definition of "aggression."
1980s
1981 - The UN General Assembly asks the ILC
to return to establishing an international Code of
Crimes.
1989 - Trinidad and Tobago puts the question of an
ICC back on the agenda of the UN General Assembly, which
requests the ILC to prepare a draft statute.
1990s
1992 - The UN General Assembly requests the ILC to draft a
statute for an international criminal court as a matter
of priority.
1993 - The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action expresses support
for the ILC's work toward the establishment and of an international
criminal court. On February 8, 1993, the UN Security Council establishes
the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
1994 - The UN Security Council establishes the ad hoc International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The ILC completes a Draft Statute for
an International Criminal Court and presents its Report containing
the draft statute to the
UN General Assembly. At this time, the ILC recommends that a conference
of plenipotentiaries be convened to negotiate a treaty to enact the
Statute. The
UN General Assembly establishes the Ad Hoc Committee on the Establishment
of an International Criminal Court. It reviews the Statute and holds
three two-week meetings at the United Nations Headquarters in New
York.
1995 - The UN General Assembly establishes a Preparatory Committee
(PrepCom) to finalize a text to be presented at a conference of plenipotentiaries.
1996 - The UN General Assembly convenes the first of what will be six
PrepCom meetings. The UN General Assembly
reaffirms and encourages the ongoing work of the Preparatory Committee,
schedules further meetings,
and sets the summer of 1998 as the date for a Diplomatic Conference
to discuss a draft
Statute for an International Criminal Court. The
ILC produces and adopts a modern draft code of international crimes. The
Draft Code of Crimes Against the Peace and Security of Mankind, 1996,
a renewed version of the 1954 Draft Code goes much further than its
1954 predecessor, addressing issues of individual liability, command
responsibility and the civil rights of the accused as well as proposing
more crimes (including a definition of the crime of aggression) and
a regime of judicial procedures such as extradition and judicial cooperation.
Article 8 of the Draft specifically notes that the Code operates with
prejudice to the jurisdiction of an international criminal court and
the Draft as a whole resembles the ILC's draft Statute for the ICC
that is still to come.
1997 - The UN General Assembly adopts a Resolution to hold
a Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment
of an International Criminal
Court in Rome in July of the following year.
The 14 Nations
of the South African Development Community ( SADC ) set out ten
basic principles for the Rome Statute.
The "Like-minded
Group" of countries develops 'cornerstone positions' for the
creation of an independent and effective International Criminal
Court.
The 'cornerstone
positions' embodied traditional principles of international law,
while, at the same time, containing legal innovation. The 'cornerstone
positions' required the ICC to have:
inherent jurisdiction
over war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and aggression,
whether committed during armed conflict between States or internally
within nations;
a defined and
constructive relationship with the UN Security Council which preserves
the independence and impartiality of the Court;
an independent
prosecutor able to initiate proceedings in addition to ICC cases
being "triggered" by State complaints and/or referrals
by the Security Council; and
a recognition
of the experiences of victims, particularly women and children,
in armed conflict and the criminal law process.
April 1998 - The PrepCom
completes its meetings with a Report and draft Statute
for an International Criminal Court.
July 17, 1998 - The Diplomatic Conference of
the Plenipotentiaries is held for five weeks in Rome. The Rome Statute
of the International
Criminal Court is adopted by 120 countries on July 17, 1998.
1999 - The UN General Assembly calls upon countries to consider signing
and ratifying the Rome Statute and creates a Preparatory Commission
(PrepCom) for the Rome Statute with its first meeting held 15-26
February.
1999
- First country ratifies ICC (Senegal) on February 2. In November
the Sixth Committee recommends that the UN General Assembly pass
a Resolution in support of the ICC.
2000s
2000 - On June 29, Canada becomes the first country into
the world to adopt comprehensive legislation to implement
its obligations under the Rome Statute. On June 30, the
PrepCom unanimously adopts finalized drafts of the Rules of Procedure
and Evidence and the Elements of Crimes for the
ICC.
Dec. 31, 2000 -
Time to sign Rome Statute ends with a total of 139 signatures (139
countries)
April 11, 2002
-The 60th ratification is deposited.
July 1, 2002 -
The Rome Statute enters into force.
July 12, 2002 -
The final session of the ICC Preparatory Comission
concludes in New York.
September 3-10, 2002 - The inaugral meeting of the Assembly of States Parties
(ASP) of the International Criminal Court is held in New York City.
February, 2003
- Election of ICC Judges. The 18 judges are
elected during a meeting of the Assembly of States Parties,
including Canadian Philippe Kirsch, Q.C.
March 11, 2003
- The ICC is inaugurated and the Court's judges are
sworn-in.
April 21, 2003
- The ICC Prosecutor is elected: Luis Moreno Ocampo
(Argentina)
