Can those who commit the most heinous of crimes be convicted for their transgressions on the international stage? The answer is yes, but under certain conditions, and largely depending on where they come from. Since the Nuremberg Trials—set up by the Allies at the end of the Second World War—prosecuted Nazi leaders, in 1945, for their atrocities and war crimes, and the Tokyo War Crimes trial began prosecuting Japanese leaders, in 1946, for prolonging WWII, international tribunals have appeared for some of the most tragic humanitarian catastrophes—namely the Rwandan Genocide (1994) and the Yugoslav Wars that started in 1991,including the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre. Recognizing the need for a body to determine and prosecute international criminal responsibility—a relatively new phenomenon in international law that is still developing—the international community came together in Rome in 1998 to draft a statute for a world court for individuals. Enter the International Criminal Court (ICC). What is the ICC The ICC, established by the Rome Statute, which entered into force in 2002, concerns itself with the four crimes specified in the treaty: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ‘the crime of aggression’. Genocide is…
