International Criminal Court

International Criminal Court (in other official languages) French: Cour pénale internationale Arabic: المحكمة الجنائية الدولية Chinese: 国际刑事法院 Russian: Международный уголовный суд Spanish: Corte Penal Internacional
Official logo
Parties and signatories of the Rome Statute   State party   Signatory that has not ratified   State party that subsequently withdrew its membership   Signatory that subsequently withdrew its signature   Not a state party, not a signatory
Seat	The Hague, Netherlands
Working languages	English French
Official languages[1]	6 languages Arabic Chinese English French Russian Spanish
Member states	125
Leaders
• President	Tomoko Akane
• First Vice-President	Rosario Salvatore Aitala
• Second Vice-President	Reine Alapini-Gansou
• Prosecutor	Karim Ahmad Khan
• Registrar	Osvaldo Zavala Giler
Establishment
• Rome Statute adopted	17 July 1998
• Entered into force	1 July 2002
Website www.icc-cpi.int

The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt)^[2] is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. The ICC is distinct from the International Court of Justice, an organ of the United Nations that hears disputes between states.

Established in 2002 pursuant to the multilateral Rome Statute, the ICC is considered by its proponents to be a major step toward justice,^[3] and an innovation in international law and human rights.^[4] However, it has faced a number of criticisms. Some governments have refused to recognise the court's assertion of jurisdiction, with other civil groups also accusing the court of bias, Eurocentrism and racism.^[5] Others have also questioned the effectiveness of the court as a means of upholding international law.