9 The International Criminal Court

  In 2003, the International Criminal Court was established in Netherlands based on the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (hereinafter referred to as the “Rome Statute”; effective in July 2002) which was adopted in a diplomatic conference hosted by the U.N. in 1998. This Court is a permanent international criminal court that prosecutes and punishes anybody who has committed the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression based on international acts, where investigation and prosecution is only implemented when the country with jurisdiction over the subject crimes has no intention of or ability to investigate and prosecute them.
  In Japan, the accession to the Rome Statute was approved in the Diet in April 2007, and the Act on Cooperation, etc. for the International Criminal Court (Act No. 37 of 2007) which contains the procedural provisions for the cooperation toward the investigation, etc. of cases over which the Court has jurisdiction, as well as the penalties concerning harmful actions to the management of the Court, such as perjury, was enacted on April 27, 2007 (enforced since October 1, 2007). And Japan deposited an instrument of accession to the Rome Statute in July of the same year, and has been a State Party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court since October 1 of the same year.