Statute of the International Criminal Court

The United Nations had considered the idea of establishing a permanent international criminal court at various times since the end of the Second World War. In 1993 and 1994, it set up two ad hoc tribunals to punish serious violations of international humanitarian law committed, respectively, in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. A series of negotiations to establish a permanent international criminal court that would have jurisdiction over serious international crimes regardless of where they were committed began in 1994 and led to the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in July 1998 in Rome. This accomplishment was the culmination of years of effort and showed the resolve of the international community to ensure that those who commit grave crimes do not go unpunished.