Article

International Criminal Court (ICC) statute and implementation of the Geneva Conventions

Commonwealth Secretariat

• Commonwealth law bulletin, Vol. 37, no. 4, December 2011, p. 681-781

English

Armed conflicts are usually accompanied by the worst atrocities known to mankind, namely, crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The pressing need to bring perpetrators of these atrocities to account has seen the establishment of tribunals culminating in the permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) established by the Rome Statute. Commonwealth governments have consistently pronounced support for the ICC and what it represents, which is consistent with Commonwealth values. The support of the Commonwealth is translated into a variety of technical assistance provided to member countries to ratify and implement the Rome Statute and strengthen national criminal justice systems to enable the domestic prosecution of ICC crimes. A model law was developed in 2004 and revised in 2011 in view of contemporary legal developments. This article presents the revised model law with commentary and among other things notes the impact on international humanitarian law.