The International Criminal Court Act 2001 (c.17) is an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
. The Act incorporates into
English law and
Northern Ireland law
The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since the partition of Ireland established Northern Ireland as a distinct jurisdiction in 1921. Prior to 1921, Northern Ireland was part of ...
the
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The principal aims of the Act are:
*to incorporate into domestic law the offences contained in the Rome Statute (
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
,
war crimes and
crimes against humanity);
*to fulfill the United Kingdom's obligations under the Statute, particularly in relation to the arrest and surrender of persons wanted by the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...
(ICC) and the provision of assistance with respect to ICC investigations; and
*to create a legal framework so that persons convicted by the ICC can serve prison sentences in the United Kingdom.
In 2006, three British military personnel were charged with inhumane treatment, a war crime, under the Act. Two of the three soldiers were cleared but the third, Corporal
Donald Payne, became the first British person to be convicted of a war crime under this act.
UK soldier jailed over Iraq abuse
'. BBC News, 30 April 2007. Accessed 4 July 2007.
The corresponding
Act of the Scottish Parliament
An Act of the Scottish Parliament ( gd, Achd Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) is primary legislation made by the Scottish Parliament. The power to create Acts was conferred to the Parliament by section 28 of the Scotland Act 1998 following the success ...
is the
International Criminal Court (Scotland) Act 2001 (asp 13).
Commencement Orders
:The International Criminal Court Act 2001 (Commencement) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/2161) (C.69
HTMLPDF
:The International Criminal Court Act 2001 (Commencement) (Amendment) Order 2001] (S.I. 2001/2304) (C.77
HTMLPDF
See also
*Human rights in the United Kingdom
Human rights in the United Kingdom concern the fundamental rights in law of every person in the United Kingdom. An integral part of the UK constitution, human rights derive from common law, from statutes such as Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights ...
*International criminal law
International criminal law (ICL) is a body of public international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetrat ...
*Völkerstrafgesetzbuch
The ''Völkerstrafgesetzbuch'' (, "Code of Crimes against International Law"), abbreviated ''VStGB'', is a German law that regulates crimes against (public) international law. It allows cases to be brought against suspects under international c ...
References
External links
International Criminal Court Act 2001
— text of the Act at the Office of Public Sector Information
{{UK legislation
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2001
International Criminal Court
Human rights in the United Kingdom