International criminal law is certainly an area of law that will be dealt with by very few people. However, due to the growing importance of its regulations in general international law, it is worth knowing the basic institutions by which the perpetrators of international crimes are held accountable.
One of the basic elements of international criminal law is now the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC), which has been operating since July 1, 2002. The first plans to establish a permanent international criminal court appeared after the Nuremberg trials. Due to the fact that immediately after their completion, Cold War rivalry began between the dominant world powers, any agreements that would transfer to the international level issues as important as criminal liability became impossible. The idea to create the Tribunal returned after the end of the Cold War, but work on its establishment intensified after the crimes committed during the break-up of Yugoslavia and the genocide in Rwanda. Due to their importance, the international community decided to establish ad hoc criminal tribunals – for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, which tried crimes committed only in these countries. It has become clear, however, that a permanent instrument is needed to hold the perpetrators accountable. In 1994, immediately after the Rwandan genocide, the UN International Law Commission adopted a draft statute for the ICC. Work on it ended in 1998 with the signing of the ICC Statute, known as the Rome Statute due to the place of signature. In 2002, after obtaining the appropriate number of ratifications of the Statute, the Tribunal started its activity.
The Rome Statute defines the categories of crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC. These are:
- genocide;
- crimes against humanity;
- war crimes;
- aggression.
The statute specifies in more detail what crimes fall into each category. It is worth noting that until 2018, due to the lack of a uniform definition of aggression, the jurisdiction of the ICC over this crime was suspended.
So far, the Court has examined the cases of 45 people, coming exclusively from Africa – focusing solely on African countries has been criticized for the Court’s activities. Criticism is also caused by the limited area and personal jurisdiction of the ICC – it can only judge crimes committed in the territory of states parties to the Rome Statute by citizens of these states (it is possible to try crimes committed in the territory and by citizens of states which make a unilateral declaration on the recognition of the jurisdiction of the Tribunal). It should be noted here that not all states are parties to the Statute – in particular, the world powers: the USA, Russia and China have so far refused to sign or ratify the Statute.
Poland ratified the Rome Statute on October 9, 2001. However, we should not expect a case involving a Polish citizen in the ICC in the near future – not only due to the nature of the crimes that fall within its jurisdiction, but also because of the fact that the Court’s jurisdiction is complementary – may be launched only when the state is not interested in prosecuting the perpetrator of an international crime or is unable to hold him accountable (e.g. due to the collapse of the judiciary). The international crimes themselves are also punishable under the Polish Criminal Code (more precisely its Chapter XVI). It is rather unimaginable that the Polish state would refrain from prosecuting such serious crimes, should they ever take place on its territory in the future.
