ICC Forum
ICC Building in the Hague

The ICC Forum is an online legal journal and world-wide discussion forum. Founded in 2010 by the ICC’s first prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and UCLA Law Professor Richard Steinberg, the ICC Forum focuses on complex legal issues faced by the International Criminal Court.

The ICC Forum is run by the UCLA School of Law and supported by The Promise Institute for Human Rights.

Debate key issues in International Criminal Law and help us shed some light on tough legal issues faced by the International Criminal Court.

All debates are open for comment.

Israel and Hamas Question

With regard to the Israel/Hamas conflict that erupted on October 7, 2023, to what extent can the International Criminal Court deter crimes in the region, facilitate a reduction of violence, provide accountability for criminality in the conflict, or advance post-conflict reconciliation between Israelis and the Palestinian people?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  2. BobBob’s picture
  3. CornCorn’s picture
  4. CoxCox’s picture
  5. EvensonEvenson’s picture
  6. Horovitz’s picture Horovitz
  7. Kuttab’s picture Kuttab
  8. Moreno Ocampo’s picture Ocampo
  9. Scheffer’s picture Scheffer
  10. Shany’s picture Shany

  • Pnina Sharvit Baruch, Adv. Senior Researcher Institute for National Security Studies, Israel

  • Yonah Jeremy Bob Author, journalist, and accredited US and Israeli lawyer The Jerusalem Post

  • Geoffrey S. Corn, B.A, J.D., LLM. Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired) George R. Killam, Jr. Chair of Criminal Law and Director of the Center for Military Law and Policy Texas Tech University School of Law

  • John Michael Cox, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Global Studies and History; Director, Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Studies University of North Carolina Charlotte

  • Elizabeth Evenson International Justice Director Human Rights Watch

  • Dr. Sigall Horovitz Transitional Justice Advisor The Clinical Legal Education Center at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

  • Jonathan Kuttab, Esq. Executive Director Friends of Sabeel, North America (FOSNA)

  • Luis Moreno Ocampo Senior Fellow, The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy Harvard Kennedy School

  • Ambassador David Scheffer Clinical Professor Emeritus (Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law, 2006–2020) Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

  • Professor Yuval Shany Hersch Lauterpacht Chair of Public International Law Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Decentralized Accountability Question

How, and to what extent, should the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor engage with national, regional, or other authorities or organizations to support accountability for those accused of grave crimes?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  3. deGuzman deGuzman’s picture
  4. Hamran Hamran’s picture
  5. Hovell Hovell’s picture
  6. Langer’s picture Langer
  7. McDougall’s picture McDougall
  8. Ntahiraja’s picture Ntahiraja
  9. Ryngaert’s picture Ryngaert
  10. Sadat’s picture Sadat

  • William W. Burke-White, J.D., Ph.D. Professor of Law University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

  • Professor Douglass Cassel Professor Emeritus of Law University of Notre Dame Law School

  • Professor Margaret M. deGuzman James E. Beasley Professor & Co-Director, Institute for International Law and Public Policy Temple University, Beasley School of Law

  • Ladislav Hamran President Eurojust

  • Professor Devika Hovell Associate Professor of Law London School of Economics and Political Science

  • Professor Máximo Langer David G. Price and Dallas P. Price Professor of Law UCLA School of Law

  • Dr. Carrie McDougall, Ph.D. Senior Lecturer University of Melbourne

  • Bernard Ntahiraja, Ph.D. Associate Professor University of South-Eastern Norway

  • Professor Cedric Ryngaert Professor of Public International Law Utrecht Centre for Accountability and Liability Law

  • Leila Nadya Sadat, J.D., L.L.M, D.E.A., Ph.D. (hon.) James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law Washington University School of Law

Legal Traditions Question Due to U.S. Sanctions, since revoked, this issue was not developed in collaboration with the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor.

The ICC has faced criticism for under-representation of non-Western laws, principles, rules, procedures, practices, or traditions in its legal structure and system. To what extent is this criticism justified? How could the organs of the Court address this criticism? To what extent might non-Western principles, rules, procedures, practices, or traditions be incorporated into the substantive, procedural, or evidentiary law or practice of the Court?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  2. Cavallaro’s picture Cavallaro
    O’Connell
  3. Huneeus’s picture Huneeus
  4. Nickson’s picture Nickson
  5. Reinold’s picture Reinold

  • Mohamed Elewa Badar, LLB, LLM, PHD, FHEA Professor of Comparative and International Criminal Law & Islamic Law Northumbria University School of Law

  • James (Jim) Cavallaro, J.D., Ph.D. Executive Director University Network for Human Rights

    Jamie O’Connell Lecturer in Residence Stanford Law School

  • Professor Alexandra Huneeus Professor of Law University of Wisconsin Law School

  • Ray Nickson, Ph.D., Barrister & Solicitor Senior Lecturer University of Newcastle Law School

  • Theresa Sophia Reinold, Dr. rer. soc. Juniorprofessor of Global and Transnational Cooperation Research Duisburg-Essen University, Institute of Political Science

Cyberwarfare Question Due to U.S. Sanctions, since revoked, this issue was not developed in collaboration with the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor.

To what extent and under what conditions might cyber operations or cyberwarfare constitute crimes specified in the Rome Statute?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  3. Hathaway’s picture Hathaway
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  5. Scheffer’s picture Scheffer

  • Kai Ambos, Dr.jur., Privatdozent LMU München Professor of Law Georg-August-University Göttingen

  • Gary D. Brown, J.D., LL.M. Professor of Cyber Law College of Information and Cyberspace; National Defense University

  • Oona A. Hathaway Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law Yale Law School

  • Marco Roscini, Ph.D. Professor University of Westminster School of Law

  • Ambassador David Scheffer International Francqui Professor KU Leuven, Belgium

Gravity Question Due to U.S. Sanctions, since revoked, this issue was not developed in collaboration with the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor.

What is the universe of cases upon which the ICC should focus? Should the Prosecutor investigate and prosecute a large number of cases whenever Rome Statute legal criteria have been met, or focus on only a small number of those situations, when crimes of the most gravity have taken place? In selecting cases to investigate and prosecute, what should be the threshold for the gravity that warrants investigation of a situation or prosecution of those most responsible?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  3. O’Brien’s picture O’Brien
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  5. Weerdesteijn’s picture Weerdesteijn
    Yanev

  • Todd F. Buchwald Former Ambassador, Office of Global Criminal Justice, U.S. Department of State

  • Professor Ray Murphy Professor Irish Centre for Human Rights, School of Law, National University of Ireland Galway

  • Melanie O’Brien, Ph.D. Senior Lecturer in International Law University of Western Australia Law School

  • Carsten Stahn, Ph.D., LL.M. Professor of International Criminal Law & Global Justice Leiden University

  • Maartje Weerdesteijn, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology

    Lachezar Yanev, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of International Criminal Law Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology

U.S. Sanctions Question Due to U.S. Sanctions, since revoked, this issue was not developed in collaboration with the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor.

Is it appropriate or effective for the United States to attempt to influence the actions of the International Criminal Court by means of the sanctions set forth in President Trump’s June 2020 Executive Order?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  2. Burke-White’s picture Burke-White
  3. deGuzman’s picture deGuzman
  4. Moreno-Ocampo’s picture Moreno-Ocampo
  5. Yoo’s picture Yoo/Stradner

  • John B. Bellinger, III Lawyer Arnold & Porter

  • William W. Burke-White, J.D., Ph.D. Professor of Law; Non-Resident Senior Fellow University of Pennsylvania Law School; The Brookings Institution

  • Professor Margaret M. deGuzman James E. Beasley Professor of Law Temple University, Beasley School of Law

  • Luis Moreno-Ocampo Senior Fellow, The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy Harvard Kennedy School

  • Professor John Choon Yoo Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law Berkeley School of Law

    Dr. Ivana Stradner Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow American Enterprise Institute

Cyber Evidence Question

To what extent can cyber evidence repositories, and digital and open-source evidence, facilitate the work of the OTP, and the ICC more generally?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

  1. Aronson’s picture Aronson/Piracés
  2. Costello’s picture Costello
  3. Kayyali’s picture Kayyali et al.
  4. Koenig’s picture Koenig
  5. Van Schaack’s picture Van Schaack

  • Professor Jay D. Aronson Founder and Director Carnegie Mellon University Center for Human Rights Science

    Enrique Piracés Technology Program Manager Carnegie Mellon University Center for Human Rights Science

  • Róisín Á Costello, LL.B., M.A., LL.M. Assistant Lecturer Maynooth University

  • Dia Kayyali Program Manager, Tech + Advocacy WITNESS

    Raja Althaibani Senior Program Manager, the Middle East and North Africa WITNESS

    Yvonne Ng Manager of Programs, Archives WITNESS

  • Dr. Alexa Koenig Lecturer-in-Residence and Executive Director Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

  • Professor Beth Van Schaack Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor in Human Rights Stanford Law School

Completion Strategy Question

What might be some elements of an ICC completion strategy for situations under investigation?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  3. Heller’s picture Heller
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  5. Whiting’s picture Whiting

  • Elizabeth Evenson Associate Director, International Justice Program Human Rights Watch

    Alison A. Smith Legal Counsel and Director, International Criminal Justice Program No Peace Without Justice

  • Rebecca J. Hamilton, J.D, MPP Associate Professor of Law American University, Washington College of Law

  • Professor Kevin Jon Heller Associate Professor/Professor University of Amsterdam/Australian National University

  • Judge Fausto Pocar Professor Emeritus of International Law University of Milan

  • Alex Whiting, J.D. Professor of Practice Harvard Law School

Superior Responsibility Question

What does the Bemba Appeal Judgment say about superior responsibility under Article 28 of the Rome Statute?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  • Diane Marie Amann Emily & Ernest Woodruff Chair in International Law and Faculty Co-Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center University of Georgia School of Law

  • Professor Miles Jackson Associate Professor of Law Jesus College, University of Oxford

  • Professor Michael A. Newton Professor of the Practice of Law and Political Science Vanderbilt University Law School

  • Nadia Carine Fornel Poutou, Esq. Executive President Association of Women Lawyers of Central African Republic

  • Leila Nadya Sadat, J.D., L.L.M, D.E.A., PhD (hon.) James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law Washington University School of Law

Anniversary Question

In the Rome Statute’s third decade, what key reforms could make the international criminal justice project stronger, more efficient, and more effective?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  4. Ferstman Ferstman’s picture
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  6. Pocar’s picture Pocar
  7. Sadat’s picture Sadat
  8. Schabas’s picture Schabas
  9. Scheffer’s picture Scheffer
  10. Sluiter’s picture Sluiter

  • Professor Dapo Akande Professor of Public International Law & Co-Director, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict University of Oxford

    Talita de Souza Dias, DPhil Candidate (Oxon), MJur (Oxon), LLB (UFPE) Tutor in Public International Law and International Criminal Law Balliol College and Faculty of Law, University of Oxford

  • Richard Dicker Director, International Justice Program Human Rights Watch

  • Dr. Adama Dieng Under-Secretary-General; Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect

  • Carla Ferstman, LL.B, LL.M, DPhil (Oxon.) Senior Lecturer University of Essex, School of Law

  • Bing Bing Jia, DPhil (Oxon.) Professor of International Law Tsinghua University Law School

  • Judge Fausto Pocar Professor Emeritus of International Law University of Milan

  • Leila Nadya Sadat, J.D., L.L.M, D.E.A., PhD (hon.) James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law Washington University School of Law

  • William A. Schabas OC MRIA Professor of International Law Middlesex University London

  • Ambassador David Scheffer Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law

  • Göran Sluiter, Ph.D. Professor in International Criminal Law University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Aggression Question

What should be the policy and approach of the Office of the Prosecutor in conducting investigations and prosecutions with regard to the crime of aggression?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  3. Dinstein Dinstein’s picture
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  • Dapo Akande Professor of Public International Law & Co-Director, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict University of Oxford

  • Benoît d’Aboville Associate Professor Sc Po/Paris School of International Affairs

  • Professor Yoram Dinstein Professor Emeritus of International Law Tel Aviv University, Faculty of Law

  • Donald M. Ferencz Visiting Professor Middlesex University School of Law

  • Tom Ruys, Ph.D., LL.M. Professor of international law Ghent Rolin-Jaequemyns International Law Institute (GRILI)

  • Sarah Sewall, D. Phil. Speyer Family Foundation Distinguished Scholar Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

Performance Question

The ICC has established four key goals regarding, broadly, its proceedings, leadership, witness security, and victim access. What are the appropriate ways to measure the ICC’s progress towards those stated goals? How can the performance of the ICC as a whole be properly assessed?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  • Geoff Dancy, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Political Science Tulane University

  • Daniel Krcmaric, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Political Science Northwestern University

  • Gabrielle Louise McIntyre Chef de Cabinet, Office of the President United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals

  • Professor Yuval Shany Hersch Lauterpacht Chair of Public International Law Hebrew University of Jerusalem

  • Carsten Stahn, Ph.D., LL.M. Professor of International Criminal Law & Global Justice Leiden University

Withdrawal Question

In recent weeks, the governments of the Republic of Burundi, the Republic of South Africa, and the Islamic Republic of the Gambia have announced their intention to withdraw from the ICC. How will this affect the emerging system of international criminal justice in the short and long term? What steps might be taken to strengthen that project?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

  1. Bassiouni’s picture Bassiouni
  2. Clarke’s picture Clarke
  3. Dicker’s picture Dicker
  4. Scheffer’s picture Scheffer

  • M. Cherif Bassiouni Distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus DePaul University College of Law

  • Kamari Maxine Clarke, Ph.D., M.S.L. Professor of Global and International Studies Carleton University

  • Richard Dicker Director, International Justice Program Human Rights Watch

  • Ambassador David Scheffer Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Question

How can the Office of the Prosecutor (“OTP” or “Office”) of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or the “Court”) secure better cooperation from those individuals and organisations on the ground responding to Sexual and Gender-based Violence, in order to facilitate its independent investigations and gain access to reliable evidence necessary to effectively investigate and prosecute such crimes?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  4. Seelinger’s picture Seelinger
  5. Whiting’s picture Whiting

  • Betsy Apple, J.D. Advocacy Director Open Society Justice Initiative

  • Christian De Vos, J.D., Ph.D. Advocacy Officer Open Society Justice Initiative

  • Susana SáCouto, J.D., MALD Director, War Crimes Research Office American University Washington College of Law

  • Kim Thuy Seelinger, J.D. Director, Sexual Violence Program, Human Rights Center University of California, Berkeley—School of Law

  • Alex Whiting, J.D. Professor of Practice Harvard Law School

Outreach Question

How can the ICC and its stakeholders more fully address challenges to outreach and public information, better utilize technology and other methods to enhance understanding of the Court’s mandate and activities, and promote support for its work?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  2. Ramirez’s picture Ramirez
  3. Vinck’s picture Vinck
  4. Christopher Werby’s picture C. Werby
  5. Olga Werby’s picture O. Werby

  • Professor Alison Cole Adjunct Professor, Legal Officer New York University Law School, Open Society Justice Initiative

  • Phuong N. Pham, Ph.D. Research Scientist Harvard School of Public Health

  • Francisco O. Ramirez, Ph.D. Professor of Education Stanford University, Graduate School of Education

  • Patrick Vinck, Ph.D. Director, Program on Vulnerable Populations Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

  • Christopher Werby, J.D. Principal Pipsqueak Productions, LLC

  • Olga Werby, Ed.D. Principal Pipsqueak Productions, LLC

Arrest Question

What more can be done to secure the arrest and surrender of persons subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  2. Dicker’s picture Dicker
  3. Parker’s picture Parker
  4. Ryngaert’s picture Ryngaert
  5. Van Schaack’s picture Van Schaack

  • Nadia Banteka, LL.M. Lecturer in International Law The Hague University

  • Richard Dicker Director, International Justice Program Human Rights Watch

  • Tom Parker CTITF Adviser for Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism Independent Consultant

  • Professor Cedric Ryngaert Associate Professor Utrecht University

  • Professor Beth Van Schaack Visiting Scholar The Center on Security & Cooperation, Stanford University

Africa Question

Is the International Criminal Court targeting Africa inappropriately?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  2. Clarke’s picture Clarke
  3. deGuzman’s picture deGuzman
  4. Taku’s picture Taku
  5. Tejan-Cole’s picture Tejan-Cole

  • M. Cherif Bassiouni Distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus DePaul University College of Law

    Douglass Hansen Legal Officer International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences

  • Kamari Maxine Clarke, Ph.D. Professor Yale University

  • Margaret M. deGuzman Associate Professor Temple University Beasley School of Law

  • Chief Charles Achaleke Taku Barrister at Law, International Lawyer Lead Counsel, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Special Court for Sierra Leone, ICC

  • Abdul Tejan-Cole Executive Director Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA)

Mass Rape Question

Can the International Criminal Court sustain a conviction for the underlying crime of mass rape without testimony from victims?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  3. Hagan’s picture Hagan
  4. MacKinnon’s picture MacKinnon
  5. Wedgwood’s picture Wedgwood

  • Kelly Dawn Askin, J.D., Ph.D. Senior Legal Officer, International Justice Open Society Justice Initiative

  • Anne-Marie de Brouwer, Ph.D., LL.M. Associate Professor Tilburg University/Tilburg Law School

  • John Hagan, Ph.D. John D. MacArthur Professor Northwestern University & American Bar Foundation

  • Catharine A. MacKinnon, J.D., Ph.D. Professor of Law Michigan Law; Harvard Law

  • Ruth Wedgwood, J.D. Burling Professor of International Law and Diplomacy School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

Reparations Question

What International Criminal Court reparations regime would be most appropriate for addressing mass atrocities and war crimes?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  3. Levmore’s picture Levmore
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  • M. Cherif Bassiouni Distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus DePaul University College of Law

  • Carla Ferstman, B.A., LL.B., LL.M. Director REDRESS

  • Saul Levmore, J.D., Ph.D. William B. Graham Distinguished Service Professor of Law University of Chicago Law School

  • Frédéric Mégret, LlB, DEA, Dipl. IEP, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair in the Law of Human Rights and Legal Pluralism Faculty of Law, McGill University

  • Eric A. Posner Kirkland & Ellis Professor University of Chicago Law School

Prevention Question

What measures should be taken to maximize the crime prevention impact of the International Criminal Court?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

  1. Anderson’s picture Anderson
  2. Broude’s picture Broude
  3. Burke-White’s picture Burke-White
  4. Goldstone’s picture Goldstone
  5. Scheffer’s picture Scheffer

  • Kenneth Anderson Professor of Law Washington College of Law, American University

  • Dr. Tomer Broude Professor Hebrew University of Jerusalem

  • William W. Burke-White, J.D., Ph.D. Deputy Dean and Professor of Law University of Pennsylvania Law School

  • Richard J. Goldstone Professor Fordham Law School

  • Ambassador David Scheffer Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law and Director, Center for International Human Rights Northwestern University School of Law

Libya Question

Should Saif al-Islam Gaddafi be tried by the National Transitional Council of Libya or by the International Criminal Court?

Discussion Background

Oversight Question

This debate addresses a constitutional issue: What is the proper balance between the independence of the International Criminal Court and the oversight role of the Assembly of States Parties regarding the Court’s administration under Article 112 of the Rome Statute?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

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  2. Cowdery’s picture Cowdery
  3. du Plessis’s picture du Plessis
  4. Khan’s picture Khan
  5. van der Wilt’s picture van der Wilt

  • José E. Alvarez Herbert and Rose Rubin Professor of International Law New York University School of Law

  • Nicholas Richard Cowdery AM QC BA LLB Professor Sydney Institute of Criminology, University of Sydney

  • Max du Plessis Associate Professor University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban

    Gevers Avatar Image Christopher Gevers Lecturer, Faculty of Law University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban

  • Akbar Khan, LLB (Hons), LLM, Barrister-at-Law Director and Principal Legal Adviser to the Commonwealth Secretary-General Commonwealth Secretariat, London

  • Harmen van der Wilt, PhD Professor (Chair of International Criminal Law) University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Darfur Question

What are the obligations of Contracting Parties to the Genocide Convention to implement arrest warrants for genocide issued by the International Criminal Court, and of African Union State Parties to implement ICC arrest warrants generally?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

  1. Akande’s picture Akande
  2. Gaeta’s picture Gaeta
  3. Mutua’s picture Mutua
  4. Schabas’s picture Schabas
  5. Sluiter’s picture Sluiter

  • Dapo Akande Professor of Public International Law & Co-Director, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict University of Oxford

  • Paola Gaeta, Ph.D. Professor of Law University of Geneva

  • Makau W. Mutua Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor University at Buffalo Law School

  • William A. Schabas, LLD, OC, MRIA Professor of Human Rights Law National University of Ireland, Galway

  • Göran Sluiter, Ph.D. Professor in the Law of International Criminal Procedure University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Law

Gaza Jurisdiction Question

Does the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court have the authority to open an investigation into alleged crimes committed in the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict?

Invited Experts’ Opinions Discussion Background

  1. Fletcher’s picture Fletcher
  2. Glasius’s picture Glasius
  3. Kearney’s picture Kearney
  4. Quigley’s picture Quigley
  5. Ronen’s picture Ronen

  • Professor George P. Fletcher Cardozo Professor of Jurisprudence Columbia Law School

  • Dr. Marlies Glasius Senior Lecturer University of Amsterdam

  • Dr. Michael Kearney Lecturer in Law University of Sussex

  • John Quigley, M.A., LL.B. President’s Club Professor in Law Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University

  • Yaël Ronen Assistant Professor Sha’arei Mishpat College, Hod Hasharon, Israel

The Rome Statute

PREAMBLE

The States Parties to this Statute,

Conscious that all peoples are united by common bonds, their cultures pieced together in a shared heritage, and concerned that this delicate mosaic may be shattered at any time,

Mindful that during this century millions of children, women and men have been victims of unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity,

Recognizing that such grave crimes threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world,

Affirming that the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished and that their effective prosecution must be ensured by taking measures at the national level and by enhancing international cooperation,

Determined to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes and thus to contribute to the prevention of such crimes, …

Continued

Flags from the conference with ratified the Rome Statute.

Awards for the ICC Forum

The HiiL Innovating Justice Award, 2012.

The ICC Forum Named One of the World’s Top Three Justice Innovations of 2012 by the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL)

In honoring the Forum, Awards Jury Chair Professor Anne van Aaken said, “The Forum is unique because it provides communication between the legal community and the international tribunal. The Forum models openness and can set an example for other institutions trying to work with national courts to help them be more open to civil society.”

2013 Computerworld Award in the World-Good Category

In 2013, the ICC Forum was a Computerworld Laureate in the “World-Good” category.

2013 Lecture Series

Special Lecture Videos & Debates

In collaboration with Stanford University

Universality Lecture

Is universal state participation in the International Criminal Court system desirable and, if so, how could that be achieved?

Video & Discussion

Peace Lecture

To what extent can the International Criminal Court advance peace around the world?

Video & Discussion

Victims Lecture

Assuming that the International Criminal Court chooses to retain victim participation in its processes, how can victims’ representation at the ICC be improved and victims’ rights be protected?

Video & Discussion

Arrest Lecture

What steps can and should the International Criminal Court take to secure the arrest and surrender of indictees?

  • Ambassador David Scheffer Ambassador David Scheffer Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law and Director, Center for International Human Rights Northwestern University School of Law

Video & Discussion

Efficiency Lecture

In what ways could the International Criminal Court’s bureaucracy, finances, judicial election process, and relationship with the States Parties be reformed to increase its efficiency as an instrument for international justice?

  • M. Cherif Bassiouni M. Cherif Bassiouni Distinguished Research Professor of Law Emeritus DePaul University College of Law

Video & Discussion

Deterrence Lecture

To what extent is the deterrence of mass atrocities an attainable goal of the International Criminal Court?

  • James D. Fearon, Ph.D. James D. Fearon, Ph.D. Professor of Political Science Stanford University

Video & Discussion

Security Council Lecture

How should the relationship between the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Security Council be changed, if at all, to advance international justice?

  • Richard Dicker Richard Dicker Director, International Justice Program Human Rights Watch

Video & Discussion

Politics and International Justice Lecture

To what extent should the International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor consider or engage in politics to advance international justice?

Video & Discussion

The Human Rights Project at UCLA School of Law (the “Project”) was established in 2009 to work to advance the cause of human rights and international justice around the world. The Project engages in a range of activities, continuously identifying and pursuing the most promising opportunities for addressing human rights issues around the globe, while at the same time advancing understanding about human rights through interdisciplinary studies.

Typical activities have included the development and utilization of web-based technologies to advance human rights; assistance to and support of prosecutors and judges in international criminal tribunals; conferences, roundtable discussions, and speakers series focused on developing a breakthrough understanding of particular human rights challenges; and field research in conflict and post-conflict societies.

The Project utilizes the best scholarship and analyses of human rights and international justice from the fields of law, politics, sociology, history, and economics in order to set its agenda and select human rights opportunities to pursue. And it uses its practical engagement in human rights advocacy to improve scholarly understanding.

For more information, please contact Professor Richard H. Steinberg, Director, UCLA School of Law, (310) 267-2064.

  • ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Professor Richard Steinberg at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

    ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Professor Richard Steinberg at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

  • In 2011, students visited the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.

    In 2011 (above) and 2013 (below) the staff of the UCLA Human Rights & International Criminal Law Online Forum met with senior staff from the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to coordinate work on the Forum.

    In 2013, students visited the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.

The ICC Forum Books

Two Books from the ICC Forum Book Series

Two books covering the first fourteen of these ICC Forum debates are available. Volume I is “Contemporary Issues Facing the International Criminal Court,” and Volume II is “The International Criminal Court: Contemporary Challenges and Reform Proposals,” both edited by Richard H. Steinberg, published by Brill | Nijhoff, and containing a foreword by Fatou B. Bensouda.