Art.

5 of the Rome Statute grants the ICC jurisdiction over the following crimes: GENOCIDE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY WAR CRIMES CRIME OF AGGRESSION

The crime must be committed with 'intent to destroy Art. 2 of 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) defines genocide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: 1. killing members of the group; 2. causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; 3. deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; 4. imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

 Specifically listed as the prohibited acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority.

 Murder; extermination; torture; rape; political, racial, or religious persecution and other inhumane acts reach the threshold of crimes against humanity only if they are part of a widespread or systematic practice. Isolated inhumane acts of this nature may constitute grave infringements of human rights, or depending on the circumstances, war crimes, but may fall short of falling into the category of crimes under discussion.

 Serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict (also known as international humanitarian law) giving rise to individual criminal responsibility. It includes violation of established protections of the laws of war, but also include failures to adhere to norms of procedure and rules of battle War crimes are sometimes part of instances of mass murder and genocide though these crimes are more broadly covered under international humanitarian law described as crimes against humanity.

1. murder 2. ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps 3. the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war 4. the killing of prisoners 5. the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and 6. any devastation not justified by military, or civilian necessity

 War of aggression is sometimes called as war of conquest, which is a military conflict waged without the justification of self-defense usually for territorial gain and subjugation Wars without international legality (e.g. not out of self-defense nor sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council) Art. 5.2 of the Rome Statute stipulates that the ICC may not exercise its jurisdiction over the crime of aggression until such time as the states parties agree on a definition of the crime and set out the conditions under which it may be prosecuted Article 39 of the United Nations Charter provides that the UN Security Council shall determine the existence of any act of aggression and "shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security"

The Court has jurisdiction over individuals accused of these crimes. This includes those directly responsible for committing the crimes as well as others who may be liable for the crimes The Court does not have universal jurisdiction. The Court may only exercise jurisdiction if: 1. The accused is a national of a State Party or a State otherwise accepting the jurisdiction of the Court; 2. The crime took place on the territory of a State Party or a State otherwise accepting the jurisdiction of the Court; or 3. The United Nations Security Council has referred the situation to the Prosecutor, irrespective of the nationality of the accused or the location of the crime.

The Court's jurisdiction does not apply retroactively The court can only prosecute crimes committed on or after 1 July 2002 (the date on which the Rome Statute entered into force). Where a state becomes party to the Rome Statute after that date, the Court can exercise jurisdiction automatically with respect to crimes committed after the Statute enters into force for that state.

Even where the Court has jurisdiction, it will not necessarily act. The principle of complementarity provides that certain cases will be inadmissible even though the Court has jurisdiction. A case will be inadmissible if it has been or is being investigated or prosecuted by a State with jurisdiction. A case may be admissible if the investigating or prosecuting State is unwilling or unable to genuinely to carry out the investigation or prosecution. The person concerned has already been tried for conduct which is the subject of the complaint, and a trial by the Court is not permitted In addition, a case will be inadmissible if it is not of sufficient gravity to justify further action by the Court.

Article 20, paragraph 3, specifies that, if a person has already been tried by another court, the ICC cannot try them again for the same conduct unless the proceedings in the other court: a) Were for the purpose of shielding the person concerned from criminal responsibility for crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court; or b) Otherwise were not conducted independently or impartially in accordance with the norms of due process recognized by international law and were conducted in a manner which, in the circumstances, was inconsistent with an intent to bring the person concerned to justice.