Table Of ContentThe Legislative History of the International Criminal Court
Volume 1
International Criminal Law Series
Editorial Board
Series Editor
M. Cherif Bassiouni (USA/EGYPT)
Distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus, President Emeritus, International Human Rights Law Institute,
DePaul University College of Law; Honorary President, International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal
Sciences; Honorary President, Association Internationale de Droit Pénal; Chicago, USA
Kai Ambos (Germany) Philippe Kirsch (Belgium/Canada) Chairman, Irish Centre for Human
Judge, District Court, Göttingen; Ad hoc Judge, International Court of Rights, National University of
Professor of Law and Head, Justice; former President, International Ireland Galway
Department for Foreign and Criminal Court; Ambassador (Ret.) Michael Scharf (USA)
International Criminal Law, Georg and former Legal Advisor, Ministry of Dean and John Deaver Drinko-
August Universität Foreign Affairs of Canada Baker & Hostetlier Professor of
Mahnoush Arsanjani (Iran) André Klip (The Netherlands) Law, Director, Frederick K. Cox
Member, Institut de Droit Professor of Law, Department of International Law Center, Case
International; former Director, Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty Western Reserve University School
Codification Division, United of Law, Maastricht University of Law
Nations Office of Legal Affairs Erkki Kourula (Finland) Ulrich Sieber (Germany)
Mohamed Chande Othman (Tanzania) Former Judge and President of the Professor of Criminal Law, Director,
Chief Justice, Court of Appeal of Appeals Division, International Max Plank Institute for Foreign
Tanzania Criminal Court and International Criminal Law,
Eric David (Belgium) Motoo Noguchi (Japan) University of Freiburg
Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, Legal Adviser, Ministry of Justice Göran Sluiter (The Netherlands)
Free University of Brussels of Japan; Visiting Professor of Professor of Law, Department
Mireille Delmas-Marty (France) Law, University of Tokyo; former of Criminal Law and Criminal
Professor of Comparative Legal International Judge, Supreme Court Procedure, Faculty of Law,
Studies and Internationalisation Chamber, Extraordinary Chambers in University of Amsterdam
of Law, Collège de France the Courts of Cambodia Françoise Tulkens (Belgium)
Adama Dieng (Senegal) Diane Orentlicher (USA) Former Vice-President, European
UN Secretary-General’s Special Professor of International Law, Court of Human Rights
Adviser on the Prevention of Co-Director, Center for Human Rights Xuimei Wang (China)
Genocide; former Registrar, and Humanitarian Law, Washington Professor of International Criminal
International Criminal Tribunal for College of Law, American University Law, College for Criminal Law
Rwanda; former Secretary General, Fausto Pocar (Italy) Science, Beijing Normal University;
International Commission of Jurists Judge and former President, Executive Director, ICC Project Office
Mark Drumbl (Canada/USA) International Criminal Tribunal for Christine van den Wyngaert
Class of 1975 Alumni Professor of the Former Yugoslavia; President, (Belgium)
Law, Director, Transnational Law International Institute of Humanitarian Judge, Appeals Chamber,
Institute, Washington and Lee Law; Professor of International Law International Criminal Court;
University School of Law Emeritus, University of Milan former Judge, International
Chile Eboe-Osuji (Nigeria) Leila Nadya Sadat (France/USA) Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Judge, Trial Division, International Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law, Yugoslavia; former Ad hoc Judge,
Criminal Court; former Legal Director, Whitney R. Harris World International Court of Justice
Adviser to the High Commissioner Law Institute, Washington University Gert Vermeulen (Belgium)
for Human Rights, Office of the High School of Law Professor of Criminal Law, Director,
Commissioner for Human Rights William Schabas (Canada/Ireland) Institute for International Research
Geoff Gilbert (UK) Professor of International Law, on Criminal Policy, Ghent University;
Professor of Law and Head, School Department of Law, Middlesex Extraordinary Professor of Evidence
of Law, University of Essex University; Professor of International Law, Maastricht University
Criminal Law and Human Rights, Giuliana Ziccardi Capaldo (Italy)
Leiden University; Honorary Professor of International Law,
Faculty of Law, University of Salerno
volume 9/1
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/icls
The Legislative History of the
International Criminal Court
Second Revised and Expanded Edition
VOLUME 1
Edited by
M. Cherif Bassiouni and William A. Schabas
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bassiouni, M. Cherif, 1937– editor. | Schabas, William, 1950– editor.
Title: The legislative history of the International Criminal Court / edited
by M. Cherif Bassiouni and William A. Schabas.
Description: Second revised and expanded edition. | Leiden ; Boston : Brill
Nijhoff, 2016. | Series: International criminal law series, ISSN 2213-2724 ; 9
Identifiers: LCCN 2016028914 (print) | LCCN 2016029151 (ebook) | ISBN
9789004321939 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9789004321946 (hardback :
alk. paper) | ISBN 9789004321953 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN
9789004322097 (E-book)
Subjects: LCSH: International criminal courts—Legislative history. |
International Criminal Court—History. | Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court (1998 July 17)
Classification: LCC KZ7288 .L44 2016 (print) | LCC KZ7288 (ebook) | DDC
345/.01—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016028914
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issn 2213-2724
isbn 978-90-04-32193-9 (hardback, set)
ISBN 978-90-04-32194-6 (hardback, vol. 1)
ISBN 978-90-04-32195-3 (hardback, vol. 2)
isbn 978-90-04-32209-7 (e-book)
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
About the Editors x
Secretary General’s 1998 Letter xiii
Preface to the First Edition by the United Nations
Secretary-General xiv
Introduction xvi
Photos xxi
Table of Abbreviations xxv
Part 1
1 Chronology of Relevant Historic Dates and Events 3
2 International Criminal Justice: A Historical Perspective 45
Introduction 45
Section 1 I nternational Investigative and Prosecutorial Bodies:
1919–1994 49
Section 2 E stablishing a Permanent International Criminal Court:
1937–1998 60
2.1 The Period of Slow Progress: 1937–1989 60
2.2 Rapidly Changing Times: 1989–1998 68
2.3 1995–1998: Preparing the Draft ICC Statute 73
2.4 Informal Inter-Sessional Meetings 81
2.5 The ‘Like-Minded States’ 82
2.6 The NGO Community 83
Section 3 T he 1998 Rome Diplomatic Conference 84
3.1 Introduction 84
3.2 Setting the Stage for the Conference 85
3.3 The Diplomatic Conference’s Beginnings 88
3.4 The Flow of Texts to the Drafting Committee 91
3.5 The Negotiating Process 96
3.6 The Final Stage 99
Section 4 The Absence of Legal Method 102
4.1 Deference to National Sovereignty and the Problems of National
Implementing Legislation 110
vi Contents
Section 5 P ost-Rome: The Preparatory Commission (1998–2002)
and Assembly of States Parties and the Review Conference 112
5.1 The Preparatory Commission: 1998–2002 114
5.2 The Assembly of States Parties 123
5.3 The Kampala Review Conference 125
Conclusion 128
3 The ICC’s Nature, Functions, and Mechanisms 132
Section 1 Nature of the Institution 132
1.1 Characteristics 132
1.2 The Subjects of the ICC 135
1.3 Prospective Jurisdiction 136
Section 2 Jurisdictional Mechanisms 137
2.1 Particularities of the ICC’s Jurisdiction 137
2.2 Referral of a ‘Situation’ 141
2.3 Complementarity: The ICC and National Legal Systems 144
2.4 Jurisdictional Bases and Preconditions to the Exercise
of Jurisdiction 147
2.5 Admissibility 149
2.6 Jurisdiction of the ICC over Nationals of Non-Party States 154
2.7 The Security Council’s Jurisdictional Role 156
2.8 The Article 98 Jurisdictional Exception 161
2.9 Jurisdictional Issues and Other Obligations under
International Law 164
2.10 Settlement of Jurisdictional Conflicts 165
Section 3 Crimes within the Jurisdiction of the ICC 165
3.1 Genocide 167
3.2 Crimes against Humanity 168
3.3 War Crimes 174
3.4 The Crime of Aggression 176
3.5 Elements of Crimes 177
3.6 Other Crimes 179
Section 4 Elements of Criminal Responsibility and Penalties 180
4.1 Ne bis in idem 186
4.2 Penalties and Sentencing 187
Section 5 Applicable Law 189
Section 6 Stages of the Judicial Proceedings 193
6.1 Initiation of the Investigation and Prosecution 194
6.2 The Trial 199
Contents vii
6.3 The Appeal 202
6.4 Procedural Due Process 202
Section 7 Victims’ Rights 206
Section 8 Cooperation and Enforcement Modalities 208
8.1 Overall Character 208
8.2 General Nature of the Obligation to Cooperate 210
8.3 Exceptions to the Obligation to Cooperate 213
Section 9 Organization and Operation of the ICC 213
9.1 The Presidency 214
9.2 The Court: The Appeals, Trial, and Pre-Trial Divisions 214
9.3 The Office of the Prosecutor 215
9.4 The Registry 216
9.5 The Assembly of States Parties 216
9.6 The Seat and Languages of the ICC 216
Section 10 National Implementing Legislation 217
Section 11 Ratification, Amendment, and Reviewing the Statute 219
Section 12 The Relationship of the ICC with the United Nations 220
Conclusion 221
Part 2
The Rome Statute, Elements of Crimes, Rules of Procedure & Evidence
and Regulations of the Court: Integrated Text 229
Part 1 Establishment of the Court 231
Part 2 Jurisdiction, Admissibility, and Applicable Law 233
Part 3 General Principles of Criminal Law 306
Part 4 Composition and Administration of the Court 314
Part 5 Investigation and Prosecution 359
Part 6 The Trial 385
Part 7 Penalties 449
Part 8 Appeal and Revision 454
viii Contents
Part 9 International Cooperation and Judicial Assistance 468
Part 10 Enforcement 490
Part 11 Assembly of States Parties 506
Part 12 Financing 508
Part 13 Final Clauses 510
Bibliography 515
Appendix 1 – Negotiated Relationship Agreement between the
International Criminal Court and the United Nations 564
Appendix 2 – Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the
International Criminal Court 574
Index 593
Acknowledgments to the First Edition
I wish to extend my appreciation to my assistant Kelly McCracken, who assem-
bled Volume 1, prepared the bibliography, and did many related technical
tasks. I also acknowledge the research of Lindsay Glauner (DePaul University,
J.D. 2001), who worked for a summer sorting out many of the documents in
Volume 2 and formatting them; Betsy Lane (DePaul University, J.D. 2003), who
worked on summarizing the reports of the Preparatory Commission and those
of the Assembly of States Parties; and Kristen Frost (DePaul University J.D.
2003), who reviewed the documents.
My appreciation also goes to Maria Angelini of Transnational Publishers for
checking the manuscript, and to Heike Fenton and Transnational for publish-
ing the volumes.
M. Cherif Bassiouni
Acknowledgments to the Second Edition
I was honoured when Cherif Bassiouni, a colleague and friend but above all
a mentor, asked me to revise and update these volumes for publication of
the second edition. This is not the only place to do so, but I would not want
to miss the opportunity to thank him for everything he has done. I also wish
to extend my appreciation to Middlesex University London, which provides
me with the time and facilities to undertake projects such as this one. My wife
Penelope Soteriou deserves my warmest thanks for her support during the
editing process.
Finally, I take the opportunity to thank Michael Mozina, Ellen Girmscheid
and Lindy Melman of Brill for their diligent, careful professionalism in the
publication of these two volumes.
William A. Schabas
