Letter from The Hague:
Fiona McKay Reports Back from
the Inauguration of the International
Criminal Court

“Today, 89 nations show that they aspire to a better world.”

March 11, 2025 - The inauguration of a new world institution took place today at the Hall of Knights in The Hague. The ICC, an institution born out of an earnest desire for a more just and peaceful world, was formally brought into being. Its 18 judges swore a solemn undertaking in a formal ceremony attended by the Dutch Queen and presided over by Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein of Jordan, the President of the Assembly of states who are members of the ICC. The ceremony was also attended by the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, President of Trinidad and Tobago Arthur Robinson, and a hundred and fifty others representing member states and civil society.

The ICC has already made history in many ways. 18 judges were elected last month in an unprecedented election process, and its founding treaty, the Rome Statute, has already changed the face of international law. Among its innovations are giving a meaningful role to victims in the legal process and specifically recognizing crimes of sexual violence against women as international crimes.

Philippe Kirsch of Canada was chosen by the judges to be President of the court, with Vice Presidents from Ghana (Akua Kuenyehia) and Costa Rica (Elizabeth Odio Benito).

The Court, which already has a temporary building and skeleton staff, is expected to be in operation after its Prosecutor - due to be elected in April - and Registrar are selected. It may begin considering communications as early as the end of the year. The ICC was set up to try the most senior perpetrators of the worst crimes imaginable: genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It will act as a court of last resort, stepping in only when national legal systems are unable or unwilling to act.

Many important voices spoke out today in support of the Court. Prince Zeid, President of the Assembly of members of the ICC said, “The international landscape in strewn with treaties ratified but never implemented. It is truly extraordinary that this one was signed scarcely five years ago and is now in force.”

Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, added: “It has taken mankind years to reach this moment. These 18 judges, 11 men and 7 women from all regions of the world, are the embodiment of our collective conscience - a conscience that has been shocked by unspeakable crimes. There are times we are told justice should be put aside. But we have come to understand that without justice there can be no lasting peace.”

Annan went on to triumph the importance of achieving justice in today’s world, so that persons considering committing atrocities will be deterred by the knowledge that one day they may be called before a court. He also warned of the danger of a culture of impunity for those responsible for mass crimes, which often results in whole communities suffering from collective guilt. “This collective guilt,” he said, “can go from one generation to another.”

Imparting advice to the newly elected Judges of the Court, Annan said: “You the judges must show great patience and compassion and unfailing resolve. All your work must shine with moral and legal clarity.”

Today 89 nations showed that they aspire to a better world, and are no longer willing to tolerate cycles of conflict marked by man’s inhumanity to man, nor to tolerate that those responsible for such shocking crimes go free.