Governance and Oversight

ICC President Sang-Hyun Song at the tenth session of the ASP. Paulo Filgueiras/UN.

The Assembly of States Parties (ASP) is responsible for the management and oversight of the ICC, the "General Assembly" of the ICC. It is a legislative body composed of the States Parties that have joined the ICC. It meets at least once a year, either at UN Headquarters in New York or in The Hague where the Court is located.

The ASP's functions include:

Approval of the ICC's annual budget and financing of the Court;
Election and discipline of ICC judges and prosecutors;
Management oversight regarding the administration of the Court;
Establishment of subsidiary bodies, including of an Independent Oversight Mechanism;
Adopting amendments to the Rome Statute and the Court's Rules of Procedure and Evidence;
Consideration and adoption of resolutions; and
Consideration of questions of non-cooperation with the ICC.

In addition to the States Parties, other countries which have signed the Rome Statute or the Final Act of the 1998 Rome diplomatic conference - including the United States - may participate as observer. Non-governmental organizations, under the umbrella of the international NGO Coalition for the ICC (CICC), also have accreditation to participate in ASP sessions. AMICC has participated in all of the ASP sessions.

Reports on the ASP

REVIEW CONFERENCE

In May and June 2010, the International Criminal Court held a Review Conference, convened by the Secretary-General of the UN, to assess the performance of the Court and consider amendments to the Rome Statute. This is required by Article 123 of the Rome Statute. The conference took place in Kampala, Uganda over ten working days during May 31-June 11.

The 2010 ICC Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda. Harrison Davis/CICC.

The Review Conference was the first opportunity for the ICC States Parties and other nations to consider amendments to the crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court, including by amending the Rome Statute to activate the Court's jurisdiction over the crime of aggression by defining the crime and setting out the conditions for the exercise of the Court's jurisdiction over it. The conference also reviewed but did not delete Article 124, a transitional provision which permits new States Parties upon joining the ICC to declare their non-acceptance of the Court's jurisdiction with respect to war crimes for a period of seven years. The Review Conference also included a "stocktaking" element which assessed the Court's performance as well as the emerging system of international criminal justice. This included suggestions for improvements to the Court that do not require amendments to the Rome Statute.

As a signatory of the Final Act of the 1998 Rome diplomatic conference which adopted the Rome Statute, the United States is entitled as of right to participate as an observer in the Assembly of States Parties as well as in the Review Conference. It participated in all aspects of the conference and, beginning in November 2009, the preparations for it. Learn more about the US and the ICC.

Reports on the Review Conference

Background on the US and the Crime of Aggression

The Crime of Aggression and the United States: Negotiations of the International Criminal Court, by Gergana Halpern (October 1, 2007)
- Questions & Answers, by Gergana Halpern and Lucy Betteridge (August 19, 2008)