A Unique Window of Opportunity

The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has consistently supported the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Since the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 17 July 1998, the organization encouraged its swift ratification. At the same time, the process of ratification opened an unprecedented window of opportunity for strengthening national criminal laws and creating the domestic infrastructure needed to support the emerging international justice system. This window may close again once the momentum generated by ICC ratification has waned.

Ensuring accountability in domestic courts

In order to establish an effective international justice system, each country ratifying the Rome Statute must develop laws that allow for cooperation with the ICC, domestic prosecution of ICC crimes, and the exercise of universal jurisdiction. By promoting action in each of these areas, the Lawyers Committee will contribute to closing the loopholes that have historically prevented international justice from realizing its promise.

First, the Lawyers Committee is working with countries on drafting domestic legislation that implements the obligations of the Rome Statute. Without such legislation, there would be no adequate domestic legal basis for cooperation with the ICC when the treaty enters into force. Since the ICC has neither a police force nor coercive powers, it would be unable, without such legislation, to obtain evidence, arrest and detain suspects, protect witnesses, or seize assets for the compensation of victims.

Second, the Lawyers Committee is working with countries on developing stronger domestic laws to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in their own courts. Because the Rome Statute gives the ICC the power to strip governments of their jurisdiction should they fail to prosecute such crimes, governments have a powerful incentive to investigate and prosecute these crimes domestically. National laws will allow domestic courts to exercise their primary responsibility to bring perpetrators to justice - a judicial remedy that has been promoted by human rights advocates for decades.

On a third related but distinct issue, the Lawyers Committee is working with governments to adopt laws that will allow national courts to exercise universal jurisdiction, which provides for prosecution of the most egregious crimes regardless of where in the world they occur or who commits them. Such jurisdiction is well established in principle but has seldom been put into practice. The ICC will not have the capacity or the jurisdictional reach to try all cases when countries with the primary responsibility to prosecute fail to do so. Universal jurisdiction will then provide the missing link to ensure effective prosecution of international criminals.

The Lawyers Committee's role

Since the beginning of the ratification process, the Lawyers Committee has worked with countries that have already written legislation on improving their drafts. We have now also expanded our work to countries that have demonstrated an interest in drafting such legislation, but have not yet done so, often because they lack the requisite access to information about the ICC. While local NGOs and government officials have a thorough knowledge of their domestic laws, they often are not able to build the bridge to the Rome Statute.

Our strategy for ensuring cooperation with the ICC, strengthening the legal basis for prosecution in domestic courts, and developing the mechanisms of universal jurisdiction is carried out regionally, working with countries that are particularly likely to serve as models and inspirations for their respective regions.

Drawing from our own experience, our network of ICC contacts, and existing ICC legislation that can serve as models, we cooperate closely with local NGOs and government officials working on ICC legislation, providing assistance in response to their needs and constraints as well as the demands of the Rome Statute and other sources of international criminal law.

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