When Interpol Comes Calling…™

Subject Matter Jurisdiction

The International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over cases involving genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes of aggression, administration of justice offenses, and sanctions for misconduct. The first four crimes, the core crimes, have been defined as “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole” and involve “unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity”. International crimes are closely associated with the human rights movement and dictate prosecution because humanity as a whole is the victim.

International crimes differ from transnational crimes, sometimes referred to as cross-border crimes, in that the later are already addressed in other international treaties. Examples of transnational crimes are money laundering, drug trafficking, trafficking in women and children, counterfeiting currency and debit/credit cards, and trafficking in stolen art and antiques. The drafters of the Rome Statute referred to these crimes as “treaty crimes”. They are not prosecuted in the International Criminal Court. While there have been serious discussions of including terrorism as a core crime, the Rome Statute may not be amended until July 1, 2009.