Rome Statute - Part 3. General Principles of Criminal Law (2025)

1. A personshall not be criminally responsible under this Statute unless the conductin question constitutes, at the time it takes place, a crime within thejurisdiction of the Court.

2. Thedefinition of a crime shall be strictly construed and shall not be extendedby analogy. In case of ambiguity, the definition shall be interpreted infavour of the person being investigated, prosecuted or convicted.

3. Thisarticle shall not affect the characterization of any conduct as criminalunder international law independently of this Statute.

A person convicted by the Court may be punished only in accordance withthis Statute.

1. Noperson shall be criminally responsible under this Statute for conduct priorto the entry into force of the Statute.

2. Inthe event of a change in the law applicable to a given case prior to afinal judgement, the law more favourable to the person being investigated,prosecuted or convicted shall apply.

1. TheCourt shall have jurisdiction over natural persons pursuant to this Statute.

2. Aperson who commits a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court shall beindividually responsible and liable for punishment in accordance with thisStatute.

3. Inaccordance with this Statute, a person shall be criminally responsibleand liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Courtif that person:

(a) Commits such a crime, whetheras an individual, jointly with another or through another person, regardlessof whether that other person is criminally responsible;

(b) Orders, solicits or inducesthe commission of such a crime which in fact occurs or is attempted;

(c) For the purpose of facilitatingthe commission of such a crime, aids, abets or otherwise assists in itscommission or its attempted commission, including providing the means forits commission;

(d) In any other way contributesto the commission or attempted commission of such a crime by a group ofpersons acting with a common purpose. Such contribution shall be intentionaland shall either:

(i) Be made with the aim of furtheringthe criminal activity or criminal purpose of the group, where such activityor purpose involves the commission of a crime within the jurisdiction ofthe Court; or

(ii) Be made in the knowledgeof the intention of the group to commit the crime;


(e) In respect of the crime of genocide,directly and publicly incites others to commit genocide;

(f) Attempts to commit such acrime by taking action that commences its execution by means of a substantialstep, but the crime does not occur because of circumstances independentof the person's intentions. However, a person who abandons the effort tocommit the crime or otherwise prevents the completion of the crime shallnot be liable for punishment under this Statute for the attempt to committhat crime if that person completely and voluntarily gave up the criminalpurpose.

The Court shall have no jurisdiction over any person who was under theage of 18 at the time of the alleged commission of a crime.

1. ThisStatute shall apply equally to all persons without any distinction basedon official capacity. In particular, official capacity as a Head of Stateor Government, a member of a Government or parliament, an elected representativeor a government official shall in no case exempt a person from criminalresponsibility under this Statute, nor shall it, in and of itself, constitutea ground for reduction of sentence.

2. Immunitiesor special procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity ofa person, whether under national or international law, shall not bar theCourt from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person.

In addition to other grounds of criminal responsibility under this Statutefor crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court:

(a) A military commander or personeffectively acting as a military commander shall be criminally responsiblefor crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court committed by forces underhis or her effective command and control, or effective authority and controlas the case may be, as a result of his or her failure to exercise controlproperly over such forces, where:

(i) That military commander orperson either knew or, owing to the circumstances at the time, should haveknown that the forces were committing or about to commit such crimes; and

(ii) That military commander orperson failed to take all necessary and reasonable measures within hisor her power to prevent or repress their commission or to submit the matterto the competent authorities for investigation and prosecution.


(b) With respect to superior andsubordinate relationships not described in paragraph (a), a superior shallbe criminally responsible for crimes within the jurisdiction of the Courtcommitted by subordinates under his or her effective authority and control,as a result of his or her failure to exercise control properly over suchsubordinates, where:

(i) The superior either knew,or consciously disregarded information which clearly indicated, that thesubordinates were committing or about to commit such crimes;

(ii) The crimes concerned activitiesthat were within the effective responsibility and control of the superior;and

(iii) The superior failed to takeall necessary and reasonable measures within his or her power to preventor repress their commission or to submit the matter to the competent authoritiesfor investigation and prosecution.

The crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court shall not be subject toany statute of limitations.

1. Unlessotherwise provided, a person shall be criminally responsible and liablefor punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court only ifthe material elements are committed with intent and knowledge.

2. Forthe purposes of this article, a person has intent where:

(a) In relation to conduct, thatperson means to engage in the conduct;

(b) In relation to a consequence,that person means to cause that consequence or is aware that it will occurin the ordinary course of events.

1. Inaddition to other grounds for excluding criminal responsibility providedfor in this Statute, a person shall not be criminally responsible if, atthe time of that person's conduct:

(a) The person suffers from amental disease or defect that destroys that person's capacity to appreciatethe unlawfulness or nature of his or her conduct, or capacity to controlhis or her conduct to conform to the requirements of law;

(b) The person is in a state ofintoxication that destroys that person's capacity to appreciate the unlawfulnessor nature of his or her conduct, or capacity to control his or her conductto conform to the requirements of law, unless the person has become voluntarilyintoxicated under such circumstances that the person knew, or disregardedthe risk, that, as a result of the intoxication, he or she was likely toengage in conduct constituting a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;

(c) The person acts reasonablyto defend himself or herself or another person or, in the case of war crimes,property which is essential for the survival of the person or another personor property which is essential for accomplishing a military mission, againstan imminent and unlawful use of force in a manner proportionate to thedegree of danger to the person or the other person or property protected.The fact that the person was involved in a defensive operation conductedby forces shall not in itself constitute a ground for excluding criminalresponsibility under this subparagraph;

(d) The conduct which is allegedto constitute a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court has been causedby duress resulting from a threat of imminent death or of continuing orimminent serious bodily harm against that person or another person, andthe person acts necessarily and reasonably to avoid this threat, providedthat the person does not intend to cause a greater harm than the one soughtto be avoided. Such a threat may either be:

(i) Made by other persons; or

(ii) Constituted by other circumstancesbeyond that person's control.

1. A mistakeof fact shall be a ground for excluding criminal responsibility only ifit negates the mental element required by the crime.

2. Amistake of law as to whether a particular type of conduct is a crime withinthe jurisdiction of the Court shall not be a ground for excluding criminalresponsibility. A mistake of law may, however, be a ground for excludingcriminal responsibility if it negates the mental element required by sucha crime, or as provided for in article 33.

1. Thefact that a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court has been committedby a person pursuant to an order of a Government or of a superior, whethermilitary or civilian, shall not relieve that person of criminal responsibilityunless:

(a) The person was under a legalobligation to obey orders of the Government or the superior in question;

(b) The person did not know thatthe order was unlawful; and

(c) The order was not manifestlyunlawful.