The International Criminal Court is a permanent court with universal scope, complementary to national jurisdictions, created by the Rome Statute adopted on July 17, 1998, based in The Hague, Netherlands, and with the authority to try individuals alleged to have committed the most serious crimes against humanity (genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes).

It exists and works to encourage the justice systems of States Parties to the Rome Statute to investigate human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law that constitute crimes under their jurisdiction, to punish those responsible, and to compensate the victims of said acts.

Pursuant to this conviction, the Colombian State is a member, promoting the universality of the Rome Statute, supporting the work of the International Criminal Court, and incorporating into its domestic law the other instruments that make up the body of the Rome Statute. Also, it recently signed an agreement with the International Criminal Court so that the court’s sentences may be served in-country, if the Court so determines and the Colombian State agrees, becoming the seventh country in the world and the first country of the Americas to do so.