A few days ago I filed with the ICC on placing Bush ond Co on War Crimes.
This is the response I got.
Would appeciate any help in following this up or crafting a response.
Dear Sir/ Madam,
On behalf of the Prosecutor, I thank you for your query on how to submit information to the Office of the Prosecutor. The Office welcomes the submission of information on crimes that may fall within the jurisdiction of the Court.
Communications may be addressed to the Office of the Prosecutor, Information & Evidence Unit, Post Office Box 19519, 2500 CM The Hague, The Netherlands, or sent by email to otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int , or sent by facsimile to +31 70 515 8555.
Communications should be written in one of the working languages of the Court, i.e. English or French, or if that is not possible, then in one of the other official languages, i.e. Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish. It is preferable for communications to contain as much detailed information as possible.
Please be aware that the submission of information does not automatically trigger an investigation. In accordance with the Rome Statute, the Office of the Prosecutor must analyse all information submitted in order to determine whether the rigorous criteria of the Statute are satisfied. As you may know, the International Criminal Court has a carefully defined jurisdiction and mandate. We are pleased to provide supplementary information below summarizing the main aspects of the Court’s jurisdiction.
Once a decision is taken whether or not there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation, the Office will promptly inform the senders of relevant communications, along with reasons for the decision. The Office will protect the confidentiality of all information submitted.
We are grateful for your interest in the Court. If you would like to learn more about the work of the Court, I invite you to visit our website at www.icc-cpi.int.
Best regards,
Information & Evidence Assistant
Office of the Prosecutor
International Criminal Court
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION CONCERNING
THE JURISDICTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
As you may know, the International Criminal Court ("the ICC" or "the Court") is governed by the Rome Statute, which entrusts the Court with a very specific and carefully defined jurisdiction and mandate.
Regarding subject matter jurisdiction: A fundamental feature of the Rome Statute is that the Court may only exercise jurisdiction over persons for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, as defined in Articles 6 to 8 of the Statute. At this time, the Court cannot exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression until the Assembly of States Parties adopts a definition of the crime and the conditions for jurisdiction and amends the Rome Statute accordingly (Article 5(2)).
Regarding temporal jurisdiction: Under Article 11 of the Statute, the Court may only exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed after 1 July 2002, the date of entry into force of the Statute. This means that allegations of incidents occurring prior to this date fall outside the Court’s jurisdiction.
Regarding personal/territorial jurisdiction: Under Articles 12 and 13 of the Statute, the Court may only exercise jurisdiction over international crimes if one or more of the following criteria are met: (i) its jurisdiction has been accepted by the State on the territory of which the crime was committed, (ii) its jurisdiction has been accepted by the State of which the person accused is a national, or (iii) the situation is referred to the Prosecutor by the UN Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. For a complete list of countries that have ratified the Statute and thereby accepted the jurisdiction of the Court, please visit our website at http://www.icc-cpi.int/...
Even where all of these criteria are satisfied, the Office must also assess other factors, such as the gravity of the situation, whether national judicial systems are investigating and prosecuting the alleged crimes, and the interests of justice.
Given the defined jurisdiction of the Court as well as the need to focus its limited resources on the gravest situations, many serious allegations will be beyond the reach of this institution to address.
Please rest assured that if you do chose to submit information to the Office of the Prosecutor, your communication will be analysed in accordance with the Statute. In light of the complex issues that must be addressed, analysis can take some time. Once a decision is reached, you will receive a response along with reasons for the decision.
You can find the complete text of the Rome Statute at
http://www.icc-cpi.int/...