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The International Criminal Court

Jul 1998

A standing court for the crimes no state will try

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The innovation is that *individuals* are held responsible rather than states, and that holding office confers no immunity. The court steps in only where national systems will not or cannot. Several great powers, the United States, China and Russia among them, have not joined, and that is the standing objection to its reach.

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After Rwanda and Yugoslavia, countries agreed to establish a permanent court able to try individuals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity — heads of state included.

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Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org · Last changed 2026-08-15