Model Law – Rome Statute  
    of the International 
    Criminal Court
           Office of Civil and 
            Criminal Justice Reform 
     Model Law to Implement 
      the Rome Statute  
      of the International 
       Criminal Court
            © Commonwealth Secretariat 2017
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                                                                                                                                                                     Introduction \ 1
                                           Introduction
                                           Commonwealth Heads of Government have expressed continued commitment to 
                                           end impunity for perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, 
                                           as well as the importance attached to building national capacity through, inter alia, 
                                           the implementation of the Rome Statute and other international humanitarian 
                                           law instruments (IHL), such as the Geneva Conventions, to ensure effective 
                                           domestic prosecutions. 
                                           The Secretariat has been mandated since 2002 to assist member countries 
                                           specifically with the ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute of the 
                                           International Criminal Court (ICC) and to work collaboratively with other partner 
                                           organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the 
                                           British Red Cross Society in promoting implementation of related IHL instruments.
                                           Becoming a party to the Rome Statute is, however, but the first step and 
                                           implementing legislation covering a range of matters, varying from State to State, is 
                                           required. Accordingly, in 2004, a Commonwealth Model Law to Implement the Rome 
                                           Statute was first developed to assist member countries in the implementation of the 
                                           Rome Statute of the ICC. 
                                           At their meeting held in October 2010, Senior Officials of Commonwealth Law 
                                           Ministries endorsed a recommendation made by the Commonwealth Secretariat 
                                           to convene an Expert Group to review and revise the Commonwealth Model Law 
                                           in line with current legal and policy developments following the Kampala Review 
                                           Conference held in June 2010, so as to reflect the various amendments made to the 
                                           Rome Statute.
                                           In the process of revising the Model Law, Commonwealth experts noted that the 
                                           practice of Commonwealth countries demonstrates that the Model Law may be used 
                                           by national legislators in two ways:
                                           (a)    as a model legislation (i.e. a textual basis to be modified and adapted to a given 
                                                  national system); or
                                           (b)    as guidance to be used alongside other resources.
                                           These alternative uses of the Model Law reflect the fact that there is no “one-size-
                                           fits-all” solution to the complex process of domestic implementation of the Rome 
                                           Statute of the ICC.
                                           The revised Model Law is further accompanied by the 2011 report of the 
                                           Commonwealth Expert Group on Implementing Legislation for the Rome Statute 
                                           of the International Criminal Court. Footnotes in the Model Law provide cross 
                                           references to relevant sections of the report, and this provides further context and 
                                           information to the model provisions.