Fast facts about the International Criminal Court

On Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he is withdrawing the Philippines from the International Criminal Court (ICC), a month after the international crimes tribunal set a preliminary examination of the complaint filed against him last year.

The complaint was filed on April 24, 2017 by Jude Sabio, the lawyer for self-confessed former hitman Edgar Matobato. It alleged that Duterte "repeatedly, unchangingly and continuously" committed crimes against humanity in his war on drugs and that under him, killing drug suspects and other criminals has become "best practice."

Citing "baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks" against him and his administration, Duterte said that the Philippines its withdrawing its ratification of the Rome Statute, the international treaty that created the ICC.

Below is more information about the ICC and its mandate.

The Rome Statute

On July 17, 1998, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Rome Statute, a treaty created with the "millions of children, women and men [who] have been victims of unimaginable atrocities" in mind.

Stating its determination to "put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes and thus to contribute to the prevention of such crimes," the Statute established the International Criminal Court.

The ICC began operating on July 1, 2002, the day the Statute entered into force.

What is the ICC?

Seen as a "court of last resort," the ICC is based in The Hague, Netherlands.

It is a permanent institution and an international legal personality with the power to exercise its jurisdiction over persons—not states—for "the most serious crimes of international concern."

It does not have retroactive jurisdiction: the ICC cannot try persons for crimes committed before 2002.

It also does not prosecute persons who were below the age of 18 at the time of their alleged crime.

Complementarity

The ICC is not intended to replace a country's own criminal jurisdiction, merely complement it: it only prosecutes a case when the State is "unwilling or unable to do so genuinely."

Jurisdiction

The ICC's jurisdiction is limited to four core international crimes specified in the Rome Statute:

• Genocide: An act "committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group."
• Crime against humanity: An act "committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population," including murder, enslavement, torture, rape, sexual slavery, deportation or forcible transfer, or enforced disappearance.
• War crime: An act that breaches the Geneva Conventions and other serious violations of the law during armed conflict, including killing, torture, and the use of child soldiers.
• Crime of aggression: An act defined by the 2010 amendments to the Statute as "the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State."

Member states

Currently, 123 states are members of the ICC.

Before the Philippines' announcement on March 14, 2018, three countries had earlier stated that they would be withdrawing from the ICC: Burundi, South Africa, and Gambia.

However, Gambia and South Africa later reversed their withdrawal.

Burundi's withdrawal took effect on October 27, 2017. It was the first country to leave the ICC, after the majority of its politicians voted for withdrawal after the ICC announced it would examine the ongoing violence in the country.

The ICC's legal process

The Office of the Prosecutor is an independent body of the ICC that conducts investigations and brings cases before the Court. The current Prosecutor is Fatou Bensouda from Gambia.

Preliminary examination: The Office of the Prosecutor determines if there is sufficient evidence of crimes under the ICC’s jurisdiction and if there are genuine national proceedings regarding these crimes.

Investigation: If a case passes the preliminary investigation, the prosecutor gathers evidence, identifies a suspect, and asks the ICC judges to issue a summons or an arrest warrant.

There are 18 judges for the ICC's three divisions: pre-trial, trial, and appeals. Usually three judges hear a case, while five judges hear the appeals.

Each judge serves a nine-year, non-renewable term.

The 18 judges elect a President and two Vice Presidents among themselves to head the court.

Pre-trial: Three pre-trial judges hear the prosecution, the defense, and the victims' legal representation, and decide if there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Trial: The prosecution must prove the accused's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before three trial judges, who will issue a verdict and (if the accused is found guilty) a sentence.

Appeals: Both the prosecution side and the defense side may appeal a trial chamber's decision on the verdict and/or the sentence.

Enforcement of sentence: Sentences are served in countries that have agreed to enforce ICC sentences.

Cases before the ICC

The complaint against Duterte is one of 10 preliminary examinations currently being undertaken at the ICC.

Eleven cases are under investigation, while there are currently none in the pre-trial stage.

Four trials are currently underway at the ICC, while two finished cases are currently being appealed.

Three cases in which all of the accused were found guilty are in the reparations stage, in which the guilty party is ordered to pay reparations to the victims.

Five cases have been closed due to charges being withdrawn, vacated or not confirmed, or due to an acquittal.

There are no cases under revision, which occurs when a convicted person or a prosecutor asks for a verdict to be revised due to new evidence, falsified evidence, or misconduct by a judge or judges. — Barbara Marchadesch/BAP, GMA News