March 1 in History
2003 – The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague
The International Criminal Court (ICC), the intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague, Netherlands, 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. It is intended to complement existing national judicial systems and it may therefore exercise its jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute criminals. The ICC lacks universal territorial jurisdiction, and may only investigate and prosecute crimes committed within member states, crimes committed by nationals of member states, or crimes in situations referred to the Court by the United Nations Security Council. The ICC began operations on July 1,2002, upon the entry into force of the Rome Statute, a multilateral treaty that serves as the Court’s foundational and governing document. States which become party to the Rome Statute become members of the ICC, serving on the Assembly of States Parties, which administers the Court. As of December 2020, there are 123 ICC member states; 42 states have neither signed nor become parties to the Rome Statute.
-Wikipedia
Photo Caption -The premises of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands -Wikipedia