Assembly of States Parties
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| Assembly of States Parties | |
|---|---|
| Name | Assembly of States Parties |
| Formation | 1998 |
| Headquarters | The Hague |
| Parent organization | International Criminal Court |
Assembly of States Parties is the management oversight and legislative body for the Rome Statute regime, convening representatives of States Parties to supervise institutions and policies linked to international criminal justice. It brings together diplomats and ministers from a wide range of capitals and hubs including New York City, The Hague, Brussels, Geneva and Rome to set budgets, elect officials and shape practice under the Rome Statute and related instruments. The Assembly interacts with a spectrum of actors such as the United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Security Council, International Criminal Court, and regional organizations like the African Union, European Union, and Organization of American States.
Background and Establishment
The Assembly emerged from the diplomatic process that produced the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court at the 1998 Rome Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, where states negotiated alongside delegations from the United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross, and non-governmental networks including the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. Delegations from founding capitals such as London, Paris, Berlin, Washington, D.C., Ottawa, Canberra, Pretoria, Tokyo, Seoul, Mexico City and Mexico framed the institutional design that embedded the Assembly as a treaty-based corporation of States Parties. Early diplomatic exchanges involved envoys linked to treaties like the Geneva Conventions, the Nuremberg Trials legacy, and the post-Cold War frameworks of the Yugoslav Wars and the Rwandan Genocide. The Assembly’s first session built on precedents from bodies such as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the International Law Commission.
Membership and Voting Procedures
Membership comprises representatives from States Parties to the Rome Statute, elected and accredited through national capitals such as Beijing, Moscow, New Delhi, Brasília, Jakarta and Nairobi. Voting rules draw on comparative practice from multilateral organs like the United Nations General Assembly, World Health Organization, International Labour Organization, and International Maritime Organization, using majority thresholds, regional groupings mirroring United Nations regional groups, and secret ballots patterned after elections for bodies such as the International Court of Justice and the Human Rights Council. Elections for officials such as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, judges comparable to those on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and members of oversight panels echo procedures in institutions like the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Procedural adaptations have referenced practice in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
Functions and Powers
The Assembly sets the ICC budget and priorities, akin to the budgeting role of the United Nations General Assembly and finance oversight seen in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. It elects the ICC Prosecutor and judges and adopts amendments to the Rome Statute, similar in effect to treaty amendment mechanisms used in the Geneva Conventions and the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Assembly establishes independent oversight bodies comparable to the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, mandates policy on cooperation with states and regional organizations including the African Union Commission and the European Commission, and can request advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice. It commissions reports and investigations involving actors like the United Nations Security Council referrals, and coordinates with hybrid courts such as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.
Bureau and Secretariat
The Assembly’s Bureau, elected from regional representatives, manages agendas in a manner resembling leadership structures of the United Nations General Assembly Bureau and the Human Rights Council Bureau. The Secretariat, located in The Hague alongside the ICC Registry and legal staff drawn from capitals such as The Hague, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Berlin, provides administrative support comparable to the UN Secretariat and the secretariats of treaty bodies like the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The President of the Assembly and Vice-Presidents perform functions similar to presiding officers in bodies like the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Peacebuilding Commission.
Sessions and Decision-Making
Sessions convene annually and in special meetings, following patterns of the United Nations General Assembly and emergency sessions akin to the UN Security Council consultations. Decision-making blends plenary votes, committee deliberations and working groups modeled after practices in the Conference of the Parties to various treaties, ad hoc panels similar to the Cartagena Dialogue, and intergovernmental committees comparable to those of the World Trade Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization. Subsidiary organs and special committees address topics such as budget, legal matters, and cooperation, resembling committees of the International Court of Justice and the UN Human Rights Committee.
Relationship with the International Criminal Court
Though distinct from the ICC’s judicial organs—the Presidency, the Chambers, and the Office of the Prosecutor—the Assembly exerts influence over policy, funding and appointments, paralleling relationships like that between the United Nations General Assembly and the International Court of Justice. The Assembly’s decisions affect the Registry’s administration and the Prosecutor’s mandate, interfacing with international actors including the United Nations Security Council, the European Court of Human Rights, national tribunals in capitals like Kigali and Sarajevo, and truth commissions such as those in Sierra Leone and Chile.
Criticisms and Reforms
Critics cite politicization reminiscent of disputes in the United Nations Security Council and accusations similar to those leveled in debates over the World Bank governance, pointing to tensions with regional blocs like the African Union and states including United States, Russia, and China. Reform proposals draw on comparative models from the Nuremberg legacy, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia reforms, and treaty amendments used by the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Suggested changes address transparency, election procedures, budgetary accountability and cooperation mechanisms, invoking practices from the Open Government Partnership, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and governance reforms debated within the European Union Council and G7 contexts.