International Criminal Court Act 2001

The International Criminal Court Act 2001 (c. 17) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act incorporates into English law and Northern Ireland law the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.^[1]

Long titleAn Act to give effect to the Statute of the International Criminal Court; to provide for offences under the law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland corresponding to offences within the jurisdiction of that Court; and for connected purposes.

Citation2001 c. 17

Territorial extent

• England and Wales
• Northern Ireland

^[b]

Royal assent11 May 2001

Quick facts Long title, Citation ...

International Criminal Court Act 2001^[a]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to give effect to the Statute of the International Criminal Court; to provide for offences under the law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland corresponding to offences within the jurisdiction of that Court; and for connected purposes.
Citation	2001 c. 17
Territorial extent	England and Wales Northern Ireland [b]
Dates
Royal assent	11 May 2001
Commencement	1 September 2001[c]
Other legislation
Amends	Army Act 1955 Air Force Act 1955 Geneva Conventions Act 1957 Naval Discipline Act 1957 Backing of Warrants (Republic of Ireland) Act 1965 Immigration Act 1988 Extradition Act 1989 Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act 1995 Access to Justice Act 1999
Repeals/revokes	Genocide Act 1969
Amended by	Life Sentences (Northern Ireland Consequential Amendments) Order 2001 Land Registration Act 2002 Courts Act 2003 Extradition Act 2003 Criminal Justice Act 2003 Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (Consequential and Incidental Provisions) Order 2003 Constitutional Reform Act 2005 Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 International Organisations Act 2005 Armed Forces Act 2006 International Tribunals (Sierra Leone) Act 2007 Serious Crime Act 2007 Police and Criminal Evidence (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland Consequential Amendments) Order 2008 Coroners and Justice Act 2009 Bribery Act 2010 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (Consequential Amendments) (Bankruptcy) and the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2016 Sentencing Act 2020 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Act 2023
Relates to	International Criminal Court (Scotland) Act 2001 Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Text of the International Criminal Court Act 2001 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

Close

The principal aims of the Act are:^[2]

• to incorporate into domestic law the offences contained in the Rome Statute (genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity);^[3]
• to fulfill the United Kingdom's obligations under the Statute, particularly in relation to the arrest and surrender of persons wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the provision of assistance with respect to ICC investigations; and
• to create a legal framework so that persons convicted by the ICC can serve prison sentences in the United Kingdom.

In 2006, three British military personnel were charged with inhumane treatment, a war crime, under the Act.^[4] Two of the three soldiers were cleared but the third, Corporal Donald Payne, became the first British person to be convicted of a war crime under this Act, when he admitted to inhumanly treating Baha Mousa.^[5] The first prosecution for crimes against humanity under the Act occurred in 2026 when a former member of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate was charged with murder and conduct ancillary to murder.^[6]

The corresponding Act of the Scottish Parliament is the International Criminal Court (Scotland) Act 2001 (asp 13).

Commencement Orders

The International Criminal Court Act 2001 (Commencement) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/2161) (C.69) HTML PDF

The International Criminal Court Act 2001 (Commencement) (Amendment) Order 2001] (S.I. 2001/2304) (C.77) HTML PDF