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> History of the ICC > Rome Conference

International Justice Day
On 17 July the world celebrates International Justice Day, to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court’s founding treaty. International Justice Day is a reminder of the urgency for all States committed to justice to ensure continued support for the Rome Statute’s international justice system. Members of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court are celebrating this day in solidarity with victims of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes through a number of worldwide events.

Rome Conference - 1998
The United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, known as the “Rome Conference,” took place from 15 June to 17 July 1998 in Rome, Italy. More than 160 governments participated in the conference, many with sizable delegations. At the end of the five weeks of intense and often emotional deliberations, 120 nations voted in favor of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Only 7 nations voted against the treaty (including the United States, Israel, China, Iraq, Qatar), while 21 countries abstained. The Statute was then open for signature and ratification.

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court actively participated in the Rome Conference – monitoring the negotiations, producing daily information for worldwide distribution and facilitating the participation and parallel activities of the more than 200 NGOs which attended. The CICC coordinated the input of civil society organizations through Issue Teams that closely followed discussions on particular provisions of the draft statute. Civil society is credited with some of the most important aspects of the Statute, such as its strong provisions for gender crimes and the independence of the prosecutor.