The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, has issued an urgent call to the 125 States Parties to the Rome Statute - the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC) - to publicly reaffirm their commitment to the ICC as efforts to discredit and dismantle the Court by the United States government threaten justice for victims and survivors of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.
As the only permanent international court established to prosecute individuals responsible for the world's gravest crimes when national jurisdictions are unwilling or unable to act, the ICC remains a vital safeguard against impunity and a cornerstone of the rule of law.
Claudio Visco, IBA President, said: 'The International Criminal Court exists because victims and survivors deserve justice when every other avenue has failed. It represents the international community's promise that those responsible for the gravest crimes will not escape accountability simply because they wield power or because national systems cannot act. That promise is now being tested. States Parties created the ICC through the Rome Statute and made a solemn commitment to uphold it. This is the moment to honour that commitment, to reject attempts to intimidate or weaken the Court, and to demonstrate that the rule of law cannot be undermined by political pressure. Standing with the ICC means standing with victims, survivors and justice itself.'
Dr Mark Ellis, Executive Director of the IBA, commented: 'The campaign against the ICC relies on misrepresentation, which the States Parties understand. The Court has a carefully defined and deliberately limited mandate. It only acts when national authorities are unwilling or genuinely unable to investigate and prosecute the most serious international crimes. The Court can only prosecute individuals after rigorous testing of evidence at every stage of the proceedings. The ICC was never intended to replace national justice systems. It exists as a court of last resort. Efforts to erode its legitimacy ultimately deny victims and survivors the opportunity for justice and weakens one of the international community's most important legal safeguards against impunity. States Parties must speak clearly and act decisively to defend the rule of law and the institution they collectively established. At a time when international justice faces unprecedented pressure, protecting the ICC is essential to ensuring that victims and survivors retain access to justice and that the rule of law prevails over impunity.'
The IBA's comments follow a recent pattern of hostility from the US administration towards the ICC, including through the imposition of sanctions on Court officials such as the ICC Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutors, eight judges and those cooperating with the Court including a United Nations Special Rapporteur and three civil society organisations. The IBA has consistently condemned all sanctions imposed on the ICC and those cooperating with it.
The IBA reminds States Parties why they created the ICC by pointing to the enduring principles contained in the Preamble to the Rome Statute, which recognises that millions of women, men and children have been victims of atrocities that shock the conscience of humanity, affirms that the gravest international crimes must not go unpunished and commits the international community to ending impunity through national action and international cooperation.
The IBA continues to call on States Parties to fulfil their obligations by cooperating fully with the ICC, as required under the Rome Statute.
