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PGA’s vision is to contribute to the creation of a Rules-Based International Order for a more equitable, safe, sustainable and democratic world.

Bolivia and the Rome Statute

On 10 December 2008, the President of Bolivia promulgated the Supreme Decree N° 29851, which established the “National Plan of Action for Human Rights - Bolivia: Dignity and Well-Being 2009-2013”. This plan contains elements relating to the implementation of the Rome Statute in the national legislation since it highlights as an objective the “support to the adoption of the Draft Law for the Implementation of the Rome Statute currently before the legislative organ of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.”

Even though after the constitutional reform of 2009, article 257 established that when an International Treaty is ratified, it becomes part of the domestic legal order, Bolivia has no legislation implementing the Rome Statute. The Bolivian State has incorporated into its domestic legislation mechanisms for support and coordination with the institutions of the State, which deal specifically with the Rome Statute. Law N°260 of 12 July 2012, the Organic Law of the Office of the Public Prosecutor, stipulates that one of the latter’s functions is to provide the international judicial, administrative, or investigative cooperation envisaged in current international laws, treaties, and conventions.

Significant progress has been achieved in implementing the Rome Statute; however, there is still work to be done. In its answer to the Plan of Action, the Plurinational State of Bolivia expressed to the Secretariat of the Assembly of States its willingness to continue working on implementing the Rome Statute to fulfill its international commitments.

In June 2012, Evo Morales Ayma, President of Bolivia, visited the International Criminal Court. Then-ICC President briefed President Morales on recent developments at the Court and thanked the visiting President for his personal commitment and interest in the ICC. President Morales explained the ongoing democratic progress in the political transformation that Bolivia’s democracy has been implementing since 2006, with a profound restructuring of the political system of representative democracy and human rights. President Morales requested technical assistance to prepare the new legal systematization of the judiciary and invited the ICC’s President and Prosecutor to visit Bolivia.

In this same year, the Ministry of Justice set up an ad hoc commission in charge of drafting a new Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP), which included a few complementarity and cooperation provisions. Moreover, the Ministry of Justice was also working on drafting ICC implementing legislation that took into account the 2006 proposal prepared by the Ombudsman’s office. Bolivian law currently includes some general provisions on international judicial cooperation.

In 2004, Dip. Raúl Araóz Velasco (Chair, Justice Committee) and Dip. Paulo Bravo Alencar (Chair, Human Rights Committee) of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia stood firmly against the ratification of a bilateral non-surrender agreement with the United States, deterring the Bolivian Government from submitting the agreement to the Chamber for ratification, hence affecting the obligations of Bolivia under the Rome Statute.

Signature, Ratification of/Accession to the Rome Statute of the ICC
Signature Date: 17 July 1998
Ratification Date: 27 June 2002
Amendments to the Rome Statute
Ratification of the Kampala Amendment to Article 8 of the Rome Statute on war crimes [poison and expanding bullets in NIAC] (2010): No.
Ratification of the Kampala Amendment to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression reflected in Article 8 bis (2010): Yes, ratified on 20 December 2020.
Ratification of the Amendment to Article 124 of the Rome Statute (2015): No.
Ratification of the Amendment to Article 8 of the Rome Statute on war crimes [biological weapons] (2017): No.
Ratification of the Amendment to Article 8 of the Rome Statute on war crimes [blinding laser weapons] (2017): No.
Ratification of the Amendment to Article 8 of the Rome Statute on war crimes [non-detectable fragments] (2017): No.
Ratification of the Amendments to Article 8 of the Rome Statute on war crimes [starvation as a war crime in NIAC] (2019): No.
Adoption of implementation legislation of the Rome Statute of the ICC

With the approval of Bill N°1768 of 10 March 1997, Bolivia incorporated in the national legislation the definition of genocide in article 138 of the Criminal Code. However, the Plurinational State of Bolivia lacks full implementation of the core principles and crimes of the Rome Statute.

The Political Constitution of Bolivia recognizes the imprescriptibility of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. In addition, title VI of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for international judicial and administrative cooperation on legal matters.
Cooperation Agreements
Ratification of Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court (APIC): Yes, ratified on 20 January 2006.
Signature of Agreement of Enforcement Sentences with the ICC: No.
Signature of Agreement of Interim and Final Release with the ICC: No.
Signature of Bilateral Immunity Agreement with the USA: No.
Key Documents

Status of the Rome Statute System as of February 2024:

 
States that have ratified the Rome Statute [124]
 
States that have signed the Rome Statute but have not ratified it yet [30]
 
States that have withdrawn from the Rome Statute [2]
 
States that have neither signed nor ratified the Rome Statute
 

124 countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Of these, 33 are African States, 19 are Asia-Pacific States, 19 are from Eastern Europe, 28 are from Latin American and Caribbean States, and 25 are from Western European and other States.

Work of PGA in this Country:

Permanent Premises of the International Criminal Court. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

United in Support of International Justice

As we celebrate International Justice Day on 17 July, PGA wishes to recall the importance of standing united in support of justice, victims’ rights, and the prevention of crimes that threaten peace, security, and well-being of our world.

The Assembly of States Parties elected Mr. Karim Khan (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) as its next Prosecutor. UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Key ICC Judicial & Other Developments (May – Dec. 2020)

A non-exhaustive summary of key ICC judicial developments in the second half of 2021.

The 10th Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the International Criminal Court and the Rule of Law (CAP-ICC) and 40th Annual Forum of PGA took place 16-17 November 2018 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

10th CAP-ICC and 40th Annual Forum of PGA

Parliament of Ukraine in Kyiv, 16-17 November 2018.

Sen. Carlos Pablo Klinsky Fernández, Member of PGA from Bolivia

PGA Members in Bolivia are pushing for the full implementation of the Rome Statute of the ICC

On 27 October 2016, Sen. Carlos Pablo Klinsky Fernández, Member of PGA from Bolivia, informed our Secretariat that he has introduced a Communication before the International Policy Commission

This seminar aimed to provide a space in which legislators and other stakeholders could exchange views on progress made and challenges that remain regarding the full implementation of the principles and crimes of the Rome Statute.

Sub-Regional Parliamentary Seminar on the ICC: Legislators from Latin America commit to the principle of Never again and Reparation for Victims

On 28-29 September 2016, in the framework of its Parliamentary Campaign for the Effectiveness and Universality of the Rome Statute, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) organized a Parliamentary Seminar.

Photo courtesy of Chamber of Deputies, Uruguay

Sub-regional Meeting on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A Commitment to Democracy and the Rule of Law in the Latin America Region

Parliamentary Seminar and a Technical Workshop in the framework of the Campaign for the Rome Statute of the ICC for the Effectiveness of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

The public hearings of the ’Operation Condor’ Trial took place in the Aula Bunker of the High Court of Rome’s Penal Tribunal in Rebibbia.

Trial Observation in the ‘Operation Condor’ Trial on Crime against Humanity

On 9 and 10 July 2015, the Secretary-General of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), Dr. David Donat-Cattin, attended the public hearings of the ’Operation Condor’ Trial in the Aula Bunker of the High Court of Rome’s Penal Tribunal in Reb

Parliamentarians from Latin America at the Chamber of Representatives of Uruguay in Montevideo, PGA Parliamentary Seminar and technical Workshop

Sub-Regional Working Group on Challenges for the Effectiveness of the Rome Statute system in the Americas

The intense activities and discussions brought together over 25 Parliamentarians from 12 different Latin American States.

The discussions brought together over 20 Parliamentarians from 10 different Latin American States, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, México, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

Sub-Regional Working Group on Challenges for the Effectiveness of the Rome Statute system in the Americas

In September 2013, PGA organized a Parliamentary Seminar and a technical Roundtable in the framework of a Sub-Regional Working Group on Challenges for the Effectiveness of the Rome Statute system in the Americas.

Publication

Parliamentary Kit on the International Criminal Court
Parliamentary Kit on the International Criminal Court

Parliamentary Kit on the International Criminal Court

It is imperative that the Rome Statute be ratified universally for the successful functioning of the Court. Parliamentarians should ensure that the ICC is truly universal.

Description

Created by the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent and independent international court capable of investigating and bringing to justice individuals who commit the most serious violations of international criminal law, international humanitarian law, and human rights.

The Rome Statute defines the crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction and provides the general principles and procedures for the operation of the Court. It also outlines the cooperation obligations of its State Parties. It is imperative that the Rome Statute be ratified universally for the successful functioning of the Court. Parliamentarians should ensure that the ICC is truly universal.

PDF(s)

Additional Details

  • Publication Type: Toolkit
  • Author(s): Parliamentarians for Global Action

Publication

Handbook for Parliamentarians: National Nomination of Judicial Candidates for the International Criminal Court (ICC)
Handbook for Parliamentarians: National Nomination of Judicial Candidates for the International Criminal Court (ICC)

Handbook for Parliamentarians: National Nomination of Judicial Candidates for the International Criminal Court (ICC)

Description

The ICC is the first and only permanent independent court with the mandate to investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for committing international crimes, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. Its 18 judges from around the world, elected for a nine-year term, play a key role in ensuring this expectation is lived up to through their primary mandate to render authoritative and high-quality jurisprudence and guarantee fair trials.

Therefore, the quality of the judges has fundamental importance to the performance, efficiency, and effectiveness of the ICC, which is at the heart of the long-term success of the ICC and the Rome Statute system as a whole. In this handbook, PGA sets forth specific criteria and recommendations for Parliamentarians to encourage their governments to improve national nomination procedures for ICC judicial candidates and adopt good practices and requirements to ensure these processes are fair, transparent, and merit-based. The goal of robust nomination procedures is to ensure that only candidate judges or jurists of the highest caliber make it on the ballot.

PDF(s)

Additional Details

  • Publication Type: Handbook
  • Author(s): Parliamentarians for Global Action

Publication

Handbook: Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
Handbook: Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Handbook: Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Description

It is our honor and privilege to present to you the Third Edition of the Handbook on the Ratification and Implementation of the Kampala Amendments on the Crime of Aggression to the Rome Statute of the ICC.

It is the product of our collaborative effort aimed at assisting States in ratifying the amendments adopted by consensus in Kampala and helping criminalize the most serious forms of the illegal use of force.

PDF(s)

Additional Details

  • Publication Type: Handbook
  • Author(s): Permanent Mission of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations; Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression; Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University (LISD); (Drafting Assistance by PGA)