The States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are those sovereign States that have ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court. As of May 2013, 122 states are states parties to the Statute of the Court, including all of South America, all of Australia, nearly all of Europe and roughly half the countries in Africa. A further 31 countries, including Russia, have signed but not ratified the Rome Statute. The law of treaties obliges these states to refrain from “acts which would defeat the object and purpose” of the treaty until they declare they do not intend to become a party to the treaty. Three of these states—Israel, Sudan and the United States—have informed the UN Secretary General that they no longer intend to become states parties and, as such, have no legal obligations arising from their former representatives' signature of the Statute. 41 United Nations member states have neither signed nor ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute; some of them, including China and India, are critical of the Court. On 21 January 2009, the Palestinian National Authority formally accepted the jurisdiction of the Court. On 3 April 2012, the ICC Prosecutor declared himself unable to determine that Palestine is a "state" for the purposes of the Rome Statute and referred such decision to the United Nations. On 29 November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a non-member observer state.
The Court can automatically exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed on the territory of a State Party or by a national of a State Party. States parties must co-operate with the Court, including surrendering suspects when requested to do so by the Court.
States Parties are entitled to participate and vote in proceedings of the Assembly of States Parties, which is the Court's governing body.
Read more about States Parties To The Rome Statute Of The International Criminal Court: States Parties, Acceptance of Jurisdiction, Signatories, Accession States, See Also, Notes
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