UNITED NATIONS, April 9, 2002 (LSN.ca) – United Nations officials confirmed yesterday at the beginning of a session of the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court (ICC) that the ICC would come into being this Thursday, April 11. Canadian Phillipe Kirsch, Chairman of the Preparatory Commission, said a number of countries have informed the UN that their already completed ratification of the Rome Statute on the ICC will be officially deposited with the UN Thursday. The new ratifications, when added to the current 56 ratifying countries, will meet or exceed the 60 necessary for the Court’s jurisdiction to come into effect.
The UN report on the meeting indicates that the deposits “would mean that, in accordance with the Court’s Statute, as of 1 July crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction—genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity—would become subject to possible international prosecution by the Court.”
While the court may prosecute all of its self-defined crimes which occur after July 1, cases will not be heard until after the ICC mechanisms are established. The preparatory Commission on the ICC will remain in place until after the Assembly of States Parties, now expected to take place in The Hague sometime in September 2002. The Commission is also dealing with arrangements for the nomination and election procedure for judges, the prosecutor and the registrar, as well as their remuneration; and a trust fund for victims and witnesses.
In addition to the current session which runs from 8 to 19 April, one more session will be held from 1 to 12 July, also at United Nations Headquarters.
See the full UN release on the meeting: https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/L2999.doc.htm