Argentine lawyer Luis Moreno Ocampo has been appointed as the first prosecutor of the new International Criminal Court (ICC).
The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 17 July 1998, when 120 States participating in the "United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court" adopted the Statute. This is the first ever permanent, treaty based, international criminal court established to promote the rule of law and ensure that the gravest international crimes do not go unpunished.
http://www.icc-cpi.int/whatistheicc/history.php Rome Statute at:
http://www.icc-cpi.int/basicdocs/romestatute.php Applicable sections:
http://www.icc-cpi.int/docs/elements(e).pdf
Article 7 (1) (a)
Crime against humanity of murder
Elements
1. The perpetrator killed7 one or more persons.
2. The conduct was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack
directed against a civilian population.
3. The perpetrator knew that the conduct was part of or intended the conduct to
be part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.
Article 7 (1) (k)
Crime against humanity of other inhumane acts
Elements
1. The perpetrator inflicted great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental
or physical health, by means of an inhumane act.
2. Such act was of a character similar to any other act referred to in article 7,
paragraph 1, of the Statute.30
3. The perpetrator was aware of the factual circumstances that established the
character of the act.
4. The conduct was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack
directed against a civilian population.
5. The perpetrator knew that the conduct was part of or intended the conduct to
be part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.
For the BBC story see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2965263.stm