The International Criminal Court Alliance News and Progress Our mission is to support research, education and organization concerning the need for, organization and operations of, and the participation of the United States in, a permanent International Criminal Court.

December 4, 2003: The Los Angeles City Council passed by unanimous vote a resolution supporting full US participation in the International Criminal Court. Full text of the resolution can be found here.

July 1, 2003: Marked the one-year anniversary of the entry into force of the treaty.

July 17, 2003: International Justice Day, marking 5 years from the date that the treaty was approved at the Rome conference.

We urge you to write your elected representatives and tell them that you support the participation of the United States of America in the International Criminal Court.

June 16, 2003: Luis Moreno Ocampo sworn in as chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

March 21, 2003: Luis Moreno Ocampo, of Argentina, is elected as the first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. For more information regarding his qualifications, please refer to his curricula vitae.

March 11, 2003: the International Criminal Court opens in the Hague, Netherlands, as the first panel of 18 judges is sworn in. The panel of judges represents nations from various geographic areas, from different legal systems, and from both genders. The judges elected are accomplished jurists or diplomats, and their election, as well as the method of election, should dispel fears of politically motivated prosecutions by the ICC.

The list of judges is as follows:

• BLATTMANN, René, of Bolivia, for 6 years;
• CLARK, Maureen Harding, of Ireland, for 9 years;
• DIARRA, Fatoumata Dembele, of Mali, for 9 years;
• FULFORD, Adrian, of the United Kingdom for 9 years;
• HUDSON-PHILLIPS, Karl T., of Trinidad and Tobago, for 9 years
• JORDA, Claude, of France, for 6 years;
• KAUL, Hans-Peter, of Germany, for 3 years;
• KIRSCH, Philippe, of Canada, for 6 years;
• KOURULA, Erkki, of Finland, for 3 years;
• KUENYEHIA, Akua, of Ghana, for 3 years;
• ODIO BENITO, Elizabeth, of Costa Rica, for 9 years;
• PIKIS, Gheorghios M., of Cypress, for 6 years;
• PILLAY, Navanethem, of South Africa, for 6 years;
• POLITI, Mauro, of Italy, for 6 years;
• SLADE, Tuiloma Neroni, of Samoa, for 3 years;
• SONG, Sang-hyun, of South Korea, for 3 years;
• STEINER, Sylvia H. de Figueiredo, of Brazil, for 9 years; and
• USACKA, Anita, of Latvia, for 3 years.

After the first panel of eighteen judges, judges are elected for single terms of nine years, with six judges elected each three years. For the first set of eighteen judges, six are elected for three years, and they may be re-elected to serve a second nine year term. Those elected for six and nine years may serve only one term. The determination of the period of service for each judge in the first set of judges was by lot.

The ICC itself is expecting to begin performing its designated functions later this year.

On April 11, 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) was officially established with the ratification of 10 governments - bring the total number to 66 countries. . The treaty entered into force July 1, 2002. By September 19, 2002, 139 nations had signed the treaty, and 81 have ratified it.

"This is a victory not only for the legal experts and the advocates who have been committed to this process for so many years, this is a victory for all those who have been victimized by the commission of these unspeakable atrocities."
- Bill Pace, WFM Executive Director and Convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, celebrating the establishment of the Court, April 11, 2002

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