Editing Rome Statute (section)

==History==
{{more citations needed section|date=June 2020}}

===Background===
The Rome Statute is the result of multiple attempts for the creation of a supranational and international tribunal. At the end of the 19th century, the international community took the first steps toward the institution of permanent courts with supranational jurisdiction. With the [[Hague Conferences|Hague International Peace Conferences]] of 1899 and 1907, representatives of the most powerful nations made an attempt to harmonize [[laws of war]] and to limit the use of technologically advanced weapons. 

After the [[Nuremberg trials]] of [[Nazi]] leaders, international institutions began prosecuting individuals responsible for [[crimes against humanity]] which are inhumane actions that may be legal in a given nation, but represent gross human rights violations. In order to re-affirm basic principles of democratic civilisation, the accused received a regular trial, the right to [[defense (legal)|defense]] and the [[presumption of innocence]]. The [[Nuremberg trials]] marked a crucial moment in [[legal history]], and after that, some treaties that led to the drafting of the Rome Statute were signed.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024|reason=What are these treaties that led to the Rome statute? This is far too vague.}} 

UN General Assembly Resolution n. 260 9 December 1948, the [[Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide]], was the first step toward the establishment of an international permanent criminal tribunal with jurisdiction on crimes yet to be defined in international treaties. In the resolution there was a hope for an effort from the Legal U.N. commission in that direction. 

The U.N. General Assembly, after the considerations expressed from the commission, established a committee to draft a statute and study the related legal issues. In 1951 a first draft was presented; a second draft followed in 1955 but there were a number of delays, officially due to the difficulties in the definition of the [[crime of aggression]], that were only solved with diplomatic assemblies in the years following the statute's coming into force. The geopolitical tensions of the [[Cold War]] also contributed to the delays.

In December 1989, [[Trinidad and Tobago]] asked the General Assembly to re-open the talks for the establishment of an international criminal court and in 1994 presented a draft statute. The General Assembly created an ''ad hoc'' committee for the International Criminal Court and, after hearing the conclusions, a Preparatory Committee that worked on the draft for two years from 1996 to 1998. 

Meanwhile, the United Nations created the ''ad hoc'' tribunals for the former Yugoslavia ([[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia|ICTY]]) and for Rwanda ([[International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda|ICTR]]) using statutes—and amendments due to issues raised during pre-trial or trial stages of the proceedings—that are quite similar to the Rome Statute.

The UN’s [[International Law Commission]] (ILC) considered the inclusion of the crime of [[ecocide]] to be included within the Draft Code of Crimes Against the Peace and Security of Mankind, the document which later became the Rome Statute. Article 26 (crime against the environment) was publicly supported by 19 countries in the Legal Committee but was removed due to opposition from the [[Netherlands]], the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States|United States of America]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=((UN. General Assembly (41st sess.))) |date=1987-01-20 |title=Draft Code of Offences against the Peace and Security of Mankind :: resolution /: adopted by the General Assembly. |url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/124973 |language=en |website=United Nations Digital Library System |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219205451/https://digitallibrary.un.org/nanna/record/124973/files/A_RES_41_75-EN.pdf?withWatermark=0&withMetadata=0&version=1&registerDownload=1 |archive-date= Dec 19, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2021-02-19 |title=Lawyers Are Working to Put 'Ecocide' on Par with War Crimes. Could an International Law Hold Major Polluters to Account? |url=https://time.com/5940759/ecocide-law-environment-destruction-icc/ |first1=Mélissa |last1=Godin |access-date=2023-07-05 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ecocide Project - Ecocide is the missing 5th Crime Against Peace |url=https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/4830/1/Ecocide_research_report_19_July_13.pdf |website=School of Advanced Study, University of London |first1=Anja |last1=Gauger |first2=Mai |last2=Pouye Rabatel-Fernel |first3=Louise |last3=Kulbicki |first4=Damien |last4=Short |first5=Polly |last5=Higgins |date=2012 |publisher=Human Rights Consortium |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231202211859/https://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/4830/1/Ecocide_research_report_19_July_13.pdf |archive-date= Dec 2, 2023 }}</ref>

===Establishment===
During its 52nd session, the UN General Assembly decided to convene a diplomatic conference "to finalize and adopt a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court".<ref name="un.org"/><ref name=rome-conf/>  The conference was convened in [[Rome]] from 15 June to 17 July 1998.  It was attended by representatives from 161 member states, along with observers from various other organizations, intergovernmental organizations and agencies, and non-governmental organizations (including many human rights groups) and was held at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, located about 4&nbsp;km away from the Vatican (one of the states represented).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://legal.un.org/icc/statute/finalfra.htm |date=17 July 1998 |website=United Nations - Office of Legal Affairs |title=Final Act of the International Criminal Court |access-date=18 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019222526/http://legal.un.org/icc/statute/finalfra.htm |archive-date=19 October 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://legal.un.org/diplomaticconferences/icc-1998/vol/english/vol_II_e.pdf |title=United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court - Rome, 15 June - 17 July 1998 Official Records - Summary records of the plenary meetings and of the meetings of the Committee of the Whole |series=Volume II |date=2002 |website=United Nations - Office of Legal Affairs |access-date=18 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019222446/http://legal.un.org/diplomaticconferences/icc-1998/vol/english/vol_II_e.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>  On 17 July 1998, the Rome Statute was adopted by a vote of 120 to 7, with 21 countries abstaining.<ref name="scharf"/>

By agreement, there was no official record of each delegation's vote regarding the adoption of the Rome Statute. Therefore, there is some dispute over the identity of the seven countries that voted against the treaty.<ref name = smith>Stephen Eliot Smith, "Definitely Maybe: The Outlook for U.S. Relations with the International Criminal Court During the Obama Administration", ''[[Florida Journal of International Law]]'', '''22''':155 at 160, n. 38.</ref> 

It is certain that the People's Republic of China, Israel, and the United States were three of the seven because they have publicly confirmed their negative votes. India, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen have been identified by various observers and commentators as possible sources for the other four negative votes, with Iraq, Libya, Qatar, and Yemen being the four most commonly identified.<ref name=smith/> 

Explanations of Vote was publicly declared by India, Uruguay, Mauritius, Philippines, Norway, Belgium, United States, Brazil, Israel, Sri Lanka, China, Turkey, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/1998/19980720.l2889.html |title=UN Diplomatic Conference Concludes in Rome with Decision to Establish Permanent International Criminal Court (UN Press Release L/2889) |access-date=29 June 2018 |archive-date=30 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630024926/https://www.un.org/press/en/1998/19980720.l2889.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

On 11 April 2002, ten countries ratified the statute at the same time at a special ceremony held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City,<ref name=ai2002>Amnesty International (11 April 2002).  ''[https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ior40/008/2002/en/ The International Criminal Court – a historic development in the fight for justice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122061016/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ior40/008/2002/en/ |date=22 November 2018 }}''. Retrieved on 31 January 2008.</ref> bringing the total number of signatories to sixty, which was the minimum number required to bring the statute into force, as defined in Article 126.<ref name="article126"/>  The treaty entered into force on 1 July 2002;<ref name=ai2002/> the ICC can only prosecute crimes committed on or after that date.<ref name=article11>Article 11 of the [http://legal.un.org/icc/statute/99_corr/cstatute.htm Rome Statute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019222421/http://legal.un.org/icc/statute/99_corr/cstatute.htm |date=19 October 2013 }}. Retrieved on 18 October 2013.</ref>

The states parties held a [[Review Conference of the Rome Statute|Review Conference]] in [[Kampala]], Uganda from 31 May to 11 June 2010.<ref name=2007resolution>Assembly of States Parties (14 December 2007).  {{cite web |url= http://www.icc-cpi.int/menus/asp/sessions/official%20records/0th%20session/4th%20session/strengthening%20the%20international%20criminal%20court%20and%20the%20assembly%20of%20states%20parties |title= Resolution: Strengthening the International Criminal Court and the Assembly of States Parties |access-date= 31 May 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110616081151/http://www.icc-cpi.int/menus/asp/sessions/official%20records/0th%20session/4th%20session/strengthening%20the%20international%20criminal%20court%20and%20the%20assembly%20of%20states%20parties |archive-date= 16 June 2011 |url-status= live }}&nbsp;{{small|(310&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]])}}. Retrieved on 31 January 2008.</ref> The Review Conference adopted a definition of the crime of aggression, thereby allowing the ICC to exercise jurisdiction over the crime for the first time. It also adopted an expansion of the list of war crimes.<ref>[http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/ASP9/OR/RC-11-ENG.pdf Official records of the Review Conference] {{webarchive|url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110704215910/http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/asp_docs/ASP9/OR/RC-11-ENG.pdf |date=4 July 2011 }}. Retrieved 3 March 2011.</ref>  [[Amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court|Amendments to the statute]] were proposed to implement these changes.