On March 11, the International Criminal Court (ICC) was officially established in the Hague. Its purpose is to bring dictators and war criminals around the world to justice. On this day, eighteen judges were sworn into office. The court will focus on trying individuals instead of countries or armies that have committed serious crimes against the world's people. Supporters of the court are expecting it to play a critical role in preventing and monitoring human rights violations, as well as in charging human rights violators.

The prosecutors, who will be elected in April, can bring lawsuits to the ICC only when the governments of the countries involved are unable or unwilling to prosecute the violations themselves. The ICC will address war criminals, crimes against humanity and genocide. The ICC has no legislative power over an individual instance of a specific crime. Instead, it can only handle lawsuits dealing with extensive or systematic crimes. Also, before charges are filed, the charges need to be first approved by the Judges' Committee.

The ICC can only handle crimes committed after July 1, 2002. Individuals, organizations, governments, and the United Nation Security Council are all eligible to bring up lawsuits in the court.

The eighteen judges include eleven men and seven women. They are an essential part of what has been called the most aggressive plan in contemporary international, legislative history. In front of legislative scholars, diplomats, political figures, and government officials from over one hundred countries around the world, the eighteen judges in black robes were sworn into office in a large hall in the Netherlands Congressional building, which was built in the fourteenth century. One by one, they raised their right hands and swore that they would carry out their duties with dignity, loyalty, fairness, and conscience. They also promised that they would respect the need for confidentiality and secrecy during the investigation and research process.

Philippe Kirsch, a judge from Canada and an expert in international law, was elected to be chairman of the court.

Although the ICC is independent of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, the General Secretary of the United Nations, joined the ceremony and said that he is supportive of the ICC. He also commented that this is a cause for all of humanity. He urged the judges not to be biased towards personal preferences. Mr. Annan also said that all the atrocities must be stopped. He commented that while we didn't have such a mechanism before, we need the ICC now and we will need it in the future as well.