The United Nations and the International Criminal Court: the Relationship

One of the most significant international organizations to be created since the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, ushers in a new era of the protection of Human Rights. The role of the International Criminal Court is recognized in a multilateral system that aims to end impunity, strengthen the rule of law, promote and project respect for human rights and establish world peace, in accordance with international law. The International Criminal Court is a court that will complement the jurisdiction of national systems; it will not replace or supersede national courts and systems of trial. It is only where a state is either unable or unwilling to try offences that are within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court that the International Criminal Court will come into action. The court is formally not an integral part from the United Nations. Nevertheless, the United Nations has played a seminal role in its creation, and continues to facilitate it?s working. Its Security Council has the power to refer the cases to the court. The precise relationship between the two is defined in the Relationship Agreement.