***46th PGA Annual Forum and 4th Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the Oceans, 26 - 27 March 2026, Mexico City. *** REGISTER HERE
***46th PGA Annual Forum and 4th Consultative Assembly of Parliamentarians for the Oceans, 26 - 27 March 2026, Mexico City. *** REGISTER HERE
| Signature, Ratification of/Accession to the Rome Statute of the ICC | |
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| Signature Date: | 7 October 1998 |
| Ratification Date: | 28 June 2001 |
| Amendments to the Rome Statute | |
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| Ratification of the Kampala Amendment to Article 8 of the Rome Statute on war crimes [poison and expanding bullets in NIAC] (2010): | Yes, accepted on 26 January 2022. |
| Ratification of the Kampala Amendment to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression reflected in Article 8 bis (2010): | Yes, accepted on 26 January 2022. |
| Ratification of the Amendment to Article 124 of the Rome Statute (2015): | Yes, accepted on 26 January 2022. |
| Ratification of the Amendment to Article 8 of the Rome Statute on war crimes [biological weapons] (2017): | Yes, accepted on 26 January 2022. |
| 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 | |
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The Act on Criminal Responsibility for Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, and War Crimes of 28 May 2014 (2014:406), domesticates the core Rome Statute crimes, except for the crime of aggression. There are a few underlying acts under crimes against humanity and war crimes not implemented under Swedish legislation. This Act also incorporates all the general principles of criminal law except for the “irrelevance of official capacity.” Cooperation with the ICC is provided for in the “Cooperation with the International Criminal Court Act (2002.329)” and the “Cooperation with the International Criminal Court Ordinance No. 2003.69.” |
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| Cooperation Agreements | |
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| Ratification of Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court (APIC): | Yes, signed on 19 February 2004 and ratified on 13 January 2005. |
| Signature of Agreement of Enforcement Sentences with the ICC: | Yes, adopted on 26 April 2017 and entered into force on 26 April 2017. |
| Signature of Agreement of Interim and Final Release with the ICC: | No. |
| Signature of Bilateral Immunity Agreement with the USA: | No. |
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125 countries are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Of these, 33 are African States, 19 are Asia-Pacific States, 20 are from Eastern Europe, 28 are from Latin American and Caribbean States, and 25 are from Western European and other States. |
Leading Parliamentarians from Italy, Sweden and the European Parliament stress the importance of the fight against impunity for international crimes, including the aggressive use of force.
PGA welcomes the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity committed in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh/Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
News broke today that the Government of South Africa has notified the United Nations Secretary General of its intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
PGA Members welcome the entry into force of Sweden’s new Act on criminal responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, as an important step towards the universal and effective implementation of the Rome Statute and the ICC.
Proposal for an annual high-level meeting in April of the “Group of Friends of the ICC” to highlight the importance of the ICC in relation to accountability, prevention and justice for victims.
The Workshop saw the active participation of 18 legislators from the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, in addition to MPs from New Zealand and Sweden.
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.
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.
Criteria and recommendations for parliamentarians to improve national nomination procedures for International Criminal Court judicial candidates.
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.
A handbook aimed at assisting States in ratifying the Kampala Amendments, helping criminalize the most serious forms of the illegal use of force.
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.
