Rome Statute

Details

Organization Timeline

Rome Statute bars official position as an exemption from criminal responsibility

📅 17 July 1998

Article 27 provides that official capacity, including that of a head of state or government, does not exempt a person from criminal responsibility before the Court. The rule rejects status-based...

Rome Statute gives Security Council a deferral power

📅 17 July 1998

Article 16 permits the Security Council to defer an investigation or prosecution for renewable 12-month periods under Chapter VII. The provision connected the Court to a political body in which five...

Rome Statute makes the ICC complementary to national courts

📅 17 July 1998

The Statute frames the Court as complementary to national criminal jurisdictions: a case is generally inadmissible when a state is genuinely investigating or prosecuting it. This design protects...