International courts take one of two forms—ad hoc or permanent.
As a response to reports of mass human rights violations, the UN Security Council established two ad hoc international criminal tribunals. In 1993, it established the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to address violations accompanying the breakup of Yugoslavia. In 1994, the UN Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to prosecute those most responsible for Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.
The successes and challenges of the temporary ad hoc tribunals laid the groundwork for the development of a more permanent solution: the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In 1998, 120 countries signed the Rome Statute, the Court’s founding treaty. By 2002, the Rome Statute took effect upon ratification by 60 states, officially establishing the ICC. The Rome Statute identifies the most serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law for the purposes of exercising jurisdiction. These violations are grouped within the categories of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.