The International Criminal Court

The document serves as a teaching module on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the domestic prosecution of international crimes. It details the ICC's evolution, its four primary organs, and the complex jurisdictional triggers and admissibility requirements, specifically the principle of complementarity. It further analyzes the tension between the ICC's mandate and state immunities, particularly regarding the Rome Statute's Articles 27 and 98. Finally, it compares how South Africa, Botswana, and Malawi incorporate international crimes into their national laws, highlighting South Africa's more comprehensive implementing legislation compared to the limited Geneva Conventions Acts in Botswana and Malawi.

• The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established by the Rome Statute, adopted on 17 July 1998 by 120 states, to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
• The ICC is composed of four primary organs: the Presidency, which handles administration; the Chambers (divided into appeals, trial, and pre-trial divisions); the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP), responsible for investigations; and the Registry, which manages non-judicial administration and witness protection.
• The principle of complementarity is the central organizing concept of the Rome Statute, meaning the ICC only admits cases if a state party is 'unwilling or unable' to genuinely prosecute the offender nationally.
• The ICC's jurisdiction can be triggered through three primary mechanisms: self-referral by a state party, the prosecutor's proprio motu powers (requiring pre-trial chamber authorization), or referral by the UN Security Council.
• UN Security Council referrals under article 13(b) allow the ICC to exercise jurisdiction over the territory and nationals of any state, regardless of whether that state is a party to the Rome Statute, based on Chapter VII UN Charter resolutions.
• There is a significant legal conflict between Article 27, which states that official capacity (such as Head of State) shall not exempt a person from criminal responsibility, and Article 98, which prohibits the court from requesting surrender if it would require a state to act inconsistently with international obligations regarding diplomatic immunity.
• The African Union (AU) has expressed institutional opposition to the ICC, specifically regarding the arrest and surrender of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, citing concerns over an anti-African bias and the role of the UN Security Council.
• South Africa has a comprehensive domestic framework via the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the ICC Act (2002), which incorporates the definitions of core international crimes and allows for 'conditional' universal jurisdiction if the accused is present in the territory.
• Botswana and Malawi have underdeveloped substantive criminal laws for international crimes, relying primarily on their respective Geneva Conventions Acts (1970 and 1967) to prosecute 'grave breaches' of the Geneva Conventions via universal jurisdiction.
• Under customary international law, heads of state and certain high-ranking officials enjoy absolute personal immunity (immunity ratione personae) before the domestic courts of other states, though this is generally not a bar to proceedings before international tribunals.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). The International Criminal Court. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Handbooks-2012-ICJ_CurriculumModule4to5.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. The International Criminal Court. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Handbooks-2012-ICJ_CurriculumModule4to5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=The International Criminal Court |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Handbooks-2012-ICJ_CurriculumModule4to5.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndinternational, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{The International Criminal Court}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/Handbooks-2012-ICJ_CurriculumModule4to5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }