PURPOSE: The International Day of Criminal Justice observed on 17 July is a reminder of the urgency for all states committed to justice around the world to ensure continued support for the international justice system. It demonstrates the crucial role of civil society members in ensuring that ICC member states live up to their obligations. The Coalition for the International Criminal Court members all over the world hold celebrations to embrace this day in solidarity with victims of grave crimes everywhere.

FORUM: Marking the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute." International Criminal Justice Day 2023. 17 July is the Day of International Criminal Justice. It marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute on 17 July 1998, the founding treaty of the ICC, which seeks to protect people from genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. 17 July unites all those who wish to support justice, promote victims' rights, and help prevent crimes that threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world.

EVENTS: On 17 July 2023; The ICC will celebrate the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Adoption of the Rome Statute. Overview of the three commemorative events 

1. Opening of the exhibit “Life After Conflict” in The Hague, Netherlands.

Date: Wednesday, 12 July 2023 at 17:00, followed by a reception.                                                                                                                                                                    Venue: The Hague City Hall, Atrium C, The Hague, Netherlands 

An International Criminal Court (ICC) exhibition entitled “Life After Conflict” will be on display in The Hague in July/August 2023. The 2023 display will be part of the commemorations for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Rome Statute on 17 July 2023. Through stories told by survivors of atrocity crimes, the exhibit shows the impact of the Rome Statute system and the Court’s work. The photographs, by award-winning photographers Rena Effendi, Pete Muller and Finbarr O’Reilly, cover stories from five countries in which the ICC has conducted investigations, all at different stages of the ICC process. 

2. Commemoration event to take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Date: Monday, 17 July 2023.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Duration: one day (two segments of three hours each from 10:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 18:00) Interpretation into English, French and Spanish (to be confirmed).

The commemorative day at the United Nations will be divided in two sessions of three hours each. The programme will be conveyed in the coming weeks. 

The will encompass an opening ceremony and will be followed by a brief high-level, inperson Ministerial Roundtable on the strategic vision for the next decade of the Court open only to the Ministerial Level Representatives and a representative of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC).  The morning session will end with a treaty ceremony for depositories of instruments of ratification/accession, amendments to the Rome Statute, as well as the signing of voluntary cooperation agreements or the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities with the Court. 

The afternoon session will be devoted to a continuation of the discussion on the strategic vision for the next decade: how to ensure consistent and sustainable support for the ICC through three distinct panels organized around some key themes for the Court and the Rome Statute system. These will include:

 a. Connecting the dots: Strengthening the international criminal law ecosystem: The role of the ICC as part of a global ecosystem of justice, intended to allow for a discussion of the complementarity regime and current cooperative trends with national systems and other accountability efforts; 

b. Ensuring adequate remedy to victims of Rome Statute crimes, dedicated to a reflection on victims participation and reparation within the Rome Statute system; and 

c. Strengthening the Rome Statute system: The Review Mechanism and beyond: The strengthening of the Rome Statute system through the current Review process will be coming to a closure in 2023. This panel is intended to take stock of what has been accomplished and to identify the way forward after its conclusion. The commemorative event will be followed by a reception at the United Nations Headquarters hosted by the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations. 

3. Commemoration event to take place at the Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights.

Date: Thursday, 12 and Friday, 13 October 2023. Duration: 1.5 days.

Hybrid event, with online interaction from invitees, to be streamed on social platforms aimed at continuing and broadening the discussion initiated in New York on the strategic vision for the next decade: how to ensure consistent and sustainable support for the ICC. A declaration or recommendations resulting from discussions in New York and Siracusa, if any, may be adopted by State Parties at the twenty-second session of the Assembly of States Parties to be held in New York from 4 to 14 December 2023. Concept note for the commemoration process of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.