Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 1998
Summary
Establishes the International Criminal Court with jurisdiction over genocide (Art. 6), crimes against humanity (Art. 7), war crimes (Art. 8), and the crime of aggression (Art. 8bis). Sri Lanka is NOT a party to the Rome Statute. Jurisdiction can be triggered by: state party referral, UNSC referral under Art. 13(b), or Article 12(3) declaration by a non-party state accepting jurisdiction for a specific situation.
Relevance to the diaspora
Sri Lanka's non-ratification blocks automatic ICC jurisdiction; Tamil diaspora legal advocates have proposed that the next elected Tamil-majority local or provincial authority could issue an Article 12(3) declaration, though this is legally contested; alternatively, a UNSC referral (blocked by China and Russia) or pressure on Sri Lanka to ratify are diaspora advocacy strategies.
Key provisions
- Art. 6 — genocide
- Art. 7 — crimes against humanity (including extermination, torture, forcible transfer, enforced disappearance)
- Art. 8 — war crimes
- Art. 12(3) — ad hoc acceptance of ICC jurisdiction by non-party state
- Art. 13(b) — UNSC referral mechanism
- Art. 17 — complementarity (ICC acts only where state is unwilling or unable to genuinely prosecute)