Abstract
After more than half a century¡¯s efforts, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (¡®the Rome Statute¡¯) was signed on 17 July 1998 at the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court. On 1 July 2002, this first permanent international criminal judicial organ in history was established at The Hague. This is an important milestone in the development of international criminal law; it will have significant effects in the fields of international law, international criminal law and international relationships. As of 1 November 2006, 103 countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Out of them 28 are African States, 12 are Asian States, 15 are from Eastern Europe, 22 are from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 26 are from Western Europe and other States. On 1st November 2006, Chad deposited its instrument of ratification to the Rome Statute. The Statute will enter into force for Chad on 1st January 2007. This will bring the total number of States Parties to 104 on 1st January 2007.
Since 2002, much progress has been achieved after the entry into force of the Court. With all of the senior officials of the Court in place, the receipt of one Security Council and three State referrals, and the formal launch of investigations, the Court is now a fully functional judicial institution. The ICC deals with a number of situations at any time and within these situations a number of cases and accused.
The ICC has a distinct character as compared with prior international criminal tribunals. To avoid the dismal prospect of an international criminal court that cannot obtain jurisdiction over international criminals, the Statute provides that the ICC may have some opportunity to exercise jurisdiction over the nationals of states that are not parties to the Statute and have not otherwise consented to the court's jurisdiction. Article 12 provides that, in addition to jurisdiction based on Security Council action under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter and jurisdiction based on consent by the defendant's state of nationality, the ICC will have jurisdiction to prosecute the national of any state, including Non-States Parties, when crimes within the court's subject-matter jurisdiction are committed on the territory of a State Party or a state that consents to the ICC jurisdiction over that case. That territorial basis would empower the court to exercise jurisdiction in cases where the defendant's home state is not a party to the treaty and does not consent to the exercise of jurisdiction.
At the same time, in all of its activities, the ICC relies on state cooperation. States Parties are obliged to cooperate fully with the Court in its investigations and prosecutions. States Parties must cooperate in, inter alia, arresting persons wanted by the Court, providing evidence for use in proceedings, relocating witnesses, and enforcing the sentences of convicted persons. Cooperation from Non-States Parties, however, is not less important to the ICC. The Statute therefore provides that the ICC may invite any State not party to the Statute to provide assistance on the basis of an ad hoc arrangement.
Further more, the principle of complementary jurisdiction gives the ICC the power to estimate whether a state is able or willing to conduct genuine criminal proceedings towards its own nationals to encourage countries to exercise their own jurisdiction over international crimes.
The road to Rome was a long and often contentious one. There have always been different voices about the ICC from the international community. Some states have been opposing or have changed their positions during the process of negotiation and after the adoption of the Court. There are still countries that do not accept the Statute and these countries remain Non-States Parties of the Court.
The aim of the thesis is try to introduce, interpret and analyze the Rome Statute to reveal the relationship between the ICC and Non-States Parties, to identify and discuss the character of the Jurisdiction of the ICC over Non-states parties mainly with regard to the most important controversial issues or disputed aspects regarding the complementary jurisdiction, the jurisdiction over Non-States Parties. One of the key-questions is how the ICC Jurisdiction will influence Non-States Parties and whether it will challenge the existing international law system and how it could be regarded as acceptable to the international community.