• Founded in 1998 to try persons who are "accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes"

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 1998 to serve as a forum in which to try persons who are "accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes." The UN Security Council, national governments, non-governmental organizations, and even individuals can bring lawsuits before the Court. The ICC defines itself as "a court of last resort," meaning that it "will not act if a case is investigated or prosecuted by a national judicial system unless the national proceedings are not genuine, for example if formal proceedings were undertaken solely to shield a person from criminal responsibility."  

The ICC was created by the so-called Rome Statute, the treaty that spelled out the Court's jurisdiction, its structure, and its functions. Adopted in Rome, Italy on July 17, 1998, this Statute is an international treaty which is binding only on those States that formally express their consent to be bound by its provisions. As of November 2006, some 103 countries had ratified the Statute.

The United States signed the Statute on December 31, 2000, during the final days of the Clinton administration. But on May 2, 2003, the Bush administration -- fearing that American soldiers and government officials could be subjected to politicized prosecutions by ambitious prosecutors and judges -- informed the UN Secretary General that "the United States does not intend to become a party to the treaty" and thus "has no legal obligations arising from its signature." The United Nations, however, has not removed the name of the United States from the official list of signatories.

In February 2003, the Assembly of States Parties elected 18 judges of the Court for three-, six-, and nine-year terms of office (different terms for different judges). All the judges (11 men and 7 women) are nationals of States Parties to the Rome Statute. These 18 hail from the countries of Canada, Ghana, Bolivia, Trinidad and Tobago, France, Cyprus, Costa Rica, South Africa, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Finland, Mali, Latvia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Bulgaria.

On March 11, 2006, the 18 ICC judges elected three of their own to assume the highest leadership positions in the Court: Philippe Kirsch of Canada was elected President; Akua Kuenyehia of Ghana was named First Vice-President; and René Blattmann of Bolivia was named Second Vice-President. Each was elected by an absolute majority of the Court's judges to a three-year renewable term.

In 2003 the Greek Bar Association announced that it would seek to prosecute British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the ICC for his support of the Iraq War.