The Assembly of States Parties
Representatives of States Parties meet and provide management oversight for the Court, including electing judges and the Prosecutor and approving the ICC’s budget
Four organs of the ICC
Presidency
Conducts external relations with States, coordinates judicial matters such as assigning judges, situations and cases to divisions, and oversees the Registry's administrative work
Judicial Divisions
18 judges in 3 divisions – Pre-Trial, Trial and Appeals – conduct judicial proceedings
OTP
Conducts preliminary examinations, investigations, and prosecutions
Registry
Conducts non-judicial activities, such as security, interpretation, outreach, support to Defence and victims' lawyers, and more
Trust Fund for Victims
Provides assistance, support and reparations to victims
States Parties to the Rome Statute
States Parties support the Court, accept the ICC's jurisdiction, and also work to incorporate the rules stipulated in the Rome Statute into their own judicial systems. Thus, each country that becomes a State Party brings the world closer to an ICC universal protection under the Rome Statute system.
States Parties to the Rome Statute gather at least once a year at sessions of the Assembly of States Parties, to provide the management oversight for the Court, for example, by establishing the budget, providing funding and also electing the Court's judges and Prosecutor.
Although the Court's expenses are funded primarily by States Parties, it can also receive voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations and other entities.
While States Parties to the Rome Statute have an obligation to cooperate with the Court, countries that are not yet States Parties may also provide ad hoc voluntary cooperation.
"I reiterate the importance of redoubling our efforts to ensure the continued expansion of the family of States that cooperate to fight against impunity and to protect the victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression".
President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute Sidiki Kaba
Learn more about the
Assembly of States Parties.
Trust Fund for Victims
Though the Trust Fund for Victims is separate from the Court, it was created in 2004 by the Assembly of States Parties, in accordance with article 79 of the Rome Statute. The Fund's mission is to support and implement programmes that address harms resulting from genocide, crimes of humanity and war crimes. To achieve this mission, the TFV has a two-fold mandate: (i) to implement Court-Ordered reparations and (ii) to provide physical, psychological, and material support to victims and their families. By assisting victims to return to a dignified and contributory life within their communities, the TFV contributes to realizing sustainable and long-lasting peace by promoting restorative justice and reconciliation.
Where we operate
Seat of the Court in The Hague, the Netherlands
The ICC's permanent premises, located at Oude Waalsdorperweg 10 2597 AK, The Hague
The Netherlands.
Close to the North Sea, the new buildings are in an area between nature and city, set in the rolling dune landscape on the edge of The Hague. The compact, sculptural arrangement of six buildings includes a central tower, which houses the ICC Courtrooms. The new location is closer to the ICC detention centre and is in the International Zone of the City of The Hague.
Find out more about the construction project
The new premises are funded by the States Parties to the Rome Statute. The host state (the Netherlands) made the site available free of charge and organised and financed the architectural design competition, which started at the end of 2008. It has also provided loans for some States Parties to participate in finding the project.
In 2010 the Danish firm schmidt hammer lassen was selected to design the new premises, as its design met all the ICC's criteria, including design quality, sustainability, functionality and cost. In October 2012 the tendering procedure for the general contractor was completed and the combination Visser & Smit Bouw and Boele & van Eesteren ("Courtys") was selected to realize the ICC permanent premises.
Field offices
The ICC has offices in several of the countries in which investigations are being conducted, though not currently in
Darfur,
Georgia or
Mali.
Those wishing to cooperate with the Court at these local offices, participate in proceedings, assist in Outreach activities, or otherwise engage with the Court in the field are welcome to contact the offices.
Gervais Bodagay, Field Outreach Assistant
+236 75523818
Caroline Maurel, Associate Outreach Officer (HQ)
+31 70 5159173
Margot Tedesco, Field Outreach Coordinator +243 8297 88 013
Margot Tedesco, Field Outreach Coordinator
+243 8297 88 013
Maria Mabinty Kamara, Outreach Coordinator for Kenya and Uganda
+243 99 801 14 18
Maria Mabinty Kamara, Outreach Coordinator for Kenya and Uganda
+243 99 801 14 18
Liaison office in New York
The ICC has a liaison office to the United Nations in New York, USA, which is primarily responsible for coordinating ICC-related events or activities at the UN headquarters. Diplomats and others involved in these events are welcome to contact this office.
ICC's Liaison Office to the United Nations
Head of the Office, Ms Karen Mosoti
866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 476
New York NY 10017
Tel: 1 212 486 1346/47/62
Fax: 1 212 486 1361
[email protected]
Detention centre
The ICC detention centre is used to hold in safe, secure and humane custody those detained by the ICC. It is not used for enforcing sentences; convicted persons serve sentences in one of the States Parties which have concluded agreements on enforcement of sentences with the ICC and have accepted to place a particular convicted person or persons within a national facility. Until such an arrangement is made, a convicted person remains temporarily in the detention centre.
The Court endeavours to ensure the mental, physical and spiritual welfare of those in the Detention Centre; detainees have access to fresh air, recreational time, sports activities, library books, news, computers (for preparing their cases), quality food and facilities for cooking. Detainees are entitled to privacy with defence lawyers, to privileged communication with a consular or diplomatic representative, to visits a minister or spiritual advisor, and to visits with family, including a spouse or partner.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is the Detention Centre's inspecting authority and as such has unrestricted access and examine, on unannounced visits, the treatment of the detained persons, their living conditions and their physical and psychological conditions, in conformity with widely accepted international standards governing the treatment of persons deprived of liberty.
No visits to the detention centre are granted to the media or general public.
COVID-19 related measures in the Detention centre
Since 19 March 2020, measures have been in place at the Detention Centre in order to protect the health, safety and lives of the detained persons during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, by minimizing contacts to detained persons and thus their risk of exposure to the virus to the extent possible.
As a result, all in-person visits to detained persons, including privileged, recreational and spiritual activities have been suspended and alternative measures have been taken to ensure the respect of the detained persons' rights and to limit the impact on them. This includes the establishment of privileged video conferencing in addition to the already existing privileged electronic link for case related material in order to facilitate privileged communications between detained persons at the Detention Centre and their defence teams. At this moment, the Registry is further exploring the possibilities to facilitate video conferencing between detained persons and their families. Furthermore arrangements have been made for all spiritual advisors to provide regular spiritual content by video conference or by written material. Video based instructions are in place and physical materials are provided for language classes. Detained persons continue to benefit from daily fresh air opportunities.
In addition, the Detention Centre adopted an import regime, allowing items to be imported into the Detention Centre following a mandatory quarantine period prior the delivery.