What crimes does the ICC address?
The Court has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes committed by individuals: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and once defined, aggression. The first three crimes are carefully defined in the Statute to avoid ambiguity or vagueness and further detailed in the Elements of Crime. The crime of aggression will be dealt with by the Court when the Assembly of States Parties has agreed on the definition, elements and conditions under which the Court will exercise jurisdiction; this cannot happen until the Review Conference which will be held in 2010, seven years after entry into force of the Rome Statute. It is important to note that the Rome Statute does not identify any new categories of crimes, but rather reflects existing conventional and customary international law.
