What is the International Criminal Court (ICC)?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an international court of justice located in The Hague, Netherlands. It was established in 2002 to prosecute individuals who commit international crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The ICC serves as a permanent tribunal to try accused individuals, as opposed to the ad hoc tribunals that have been used in the past. The ICC is not affiliated with the United Nations, but the UN does cooperate with the court and can refer cases to it. The ICC is supported by over 120 UN member states, including the United States and California. The court is governed by a statute, officially known as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which sets out the court’s jurisdiction and the powers of its judges. The ICC is the first truly global court with jurisdiction over individuals from any signatory state. It is also the first court with authority to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The court is separate from domestic justice systems, meaning that it has no jurisdiction over purely national cases. For individuals in California, this means that the ICC can only prosecute cases of a truly international nature, such as war crimes and genocide.
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