As the guardian of international humanitarian law (IHL), the ICRC supports efforts to end impunity for international crimes and is keenly interested in the establishment and jurisprudence of international criminal tribunals. However, ICRC staff do not testify before such tribunals.

Fact sheet summarizing the main provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court and its requirements regarding national enforcement.

United Nations, General Assembly, 57th session, Sixth committee, item 158 of the agenda. Statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), New York, 14 October 2002. The ICRC welcomes the entry into force of the Rome Statute establishing the permanent International Criminal Court.

Link to the IHL Treaty database

This is an important publication which provides a critical insight into the "travaux préparatoires" of the Preparatory Commission leading to the adoption of the elements of war crimes. Also containing an analysis of existing case law related to each war crime in the Statute, it is a unique tool particularly for judges, prosecutors and international and national lawyers in interpreting the war crimes provisions. With contributions by Louise Doswald-Beck and Robert Kolb.

Transitional justice encompasses a number of mechanisms that seek to allow post-conflict societies to deal with past atrocities in circumstances of radical change. However, two of these mechanisms, i.e. truth commissions and criminal processes, might clash if the former are combined with amnesties. This article examines the possibility of employing the Rome Statute’s article 53 so as to allow these two mechanisms to operate in a complementary manner.

Judge Philippe Kirsch (Canada) is president of the International Criminal Court in The Hague and is assigned to its Appeals Division. He is a member of the bar of the province of Quebec and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1988.

This article offers to explore the obligation of non-party states to co-operate under international law, the prospects of their co-operation and the legal consequences of non-co-operation.

Special issue: Impunity - the International Criminal Court

ICRC legal adviser Gabor Rona examines the unique nature of the ICRC’s international legal status, the three specific sources in international law for the ICRC’s testimonial protection, and discusses the reasons behind the ICRC’s policy on testimony as well as related issues.

United Nations, General Assembly, 59th session, Sixth committee, item 146 of the agenda. Statement by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), New York, 14 October 2004

Basic documents (Rome Statute, elements of crime, official documents from the Assembly of States Parties, and rules of procedure and evidence). Explanation of the Court structure. List of States Parties with, for each, its situation regarding implementation.

Status of acceptance of the Rome Statue country by country, with state of implementation for each country. Status of acceptance indicated on a world map. Declarations. News from NGOs, the UN and governments on current affairs concerning the Court.