[9] Under the Rome Statute, the ICC can only investigate and prosecute the four core international crimes in situations where states are "unable" or "unwilling" to do so themselves.

At the end of the 19th century, the international community took the first steps toward the institution of permanent courts with supranational jurisdiction.

With the Hague International Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907, representatives of the most powerful nations made an attempt to harmonize laws of war and to limit the use of technologically advanced weapons.

In order to re-affirm basic principles of democratic civilisation, the accused received a regular trial, the right to defense and the presumption of innocence.

The Nuremberg trials marked a crucial moment in legal history, and after that, some treaties that led to the drafting of the Rome Statute were signed.

The U.N. General Assembly, after the considerations expressed from the commission, established a committee to draft a statute and study the related legal issues.

In December 1989, Trinidad and Tobago asked the General Assembly to re-open the talks for the establishment of an international criminal court and in 1994 presented a draft statute.

Meanwhile, the United Nations created the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and for Rwanda (ICTR) using statutes—and amendments due to issues raised during pre-trial or trial stages of the proceedings—that are quite similar to the Rome Statute.

[14][15][16] During its 52nd session, the UN General Assembly decided to convene a diplomatic conference "to finalize and adopt a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court".

[19] It is certain that the People's Republic of China, Israel, and the United States were three of the seven because they have publicly confirmed their negative votes.

[20] On 11 April 2002, ten countries ratified the statute at the same time at a special ceremony held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City,[21] bringing the total number of signatories to sixty, which was the minimum number required to bring the statute into force, as defined in Article 126.

As of January 2025[update], 125 states[a] are parties to the Statute of the Court, including all the countries of South America, nearly all of Europe, most of Oceania and roughly half of Africa.

Otherwise, the Prosecutor must seek authorization from a Pre-Trial Chamber of three judges to begin an investigation proprio motu (on its own initiative).

Immunities or special procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether under national or international law, shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person.” However, according to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, states which have not ratified a treaty cannot be bound by its provisions, meaning that states such as Russia and Israel have not agreed to waive the immunities of their officials for that purpose.

The argument, one of the justifications of the court which was reaffirmed in the decision against Mongolia in 2024, is highlighting the grammatical interpretation of article 98(1).

The Rome Statute established three bodies: the ICC itself, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), and the Trust Fund for Victims.