International Criminal Court (ICC)

On 17 July 1998, a United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries adopted the “Rome Statute”, which established a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) based in the Hague. The ICC is responsible for prosecuting and ruling on cases involving genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It is brought in only where a State Party is itself unwilling or unable to prosecute such crimes committed within its own territory or by its own nationals.
Against the backdrop of its humanitarian tradition and its role as the depository State of the Geneva Conventions, Switzerland has played a significant part in establishing a strong and independent court. Switzerland ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC in 2001, and at the same time undertook the legislative amendments that were immediately necessary for it to enter into domestic law (passing of the federal law on cooperation with the ICC). In a second step, there will now be comprehensive amendments to Swiss penal law to bring it in to line with the Rome Statute.

For the complete documentation see the pages in German, French or Italian.