International crime refers to acts that occur across national boundaries that violate international law and are typically prosecuted by international tribunals.
International crimes include genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. These crimes are defined in various international treaties and agreements, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the primary treaty governing international criminal law. Article 5 of the Rome Statute defines the crimes within the ICC's jurisdiction.
In the United States, international crimes are often defined and prosecuted under federal law, such as the War Crimes Act of 1996 or the Genocide Accountability Act of 2007. These statutes generally incorporate international criminal law principles into domestic law and provide for prosecuting individuals who commit international crimes, regardless of where those crimes occurred.
For example, the War Crimes Act of 1996 defines war crimes to include acts such as torture, murder, and hostage-taking committed during an armed conflict. It provides for prosecuting individuals who commit such crimes, even if they are not U.S. citizens and the crimes did not occur in the U.S.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of crimes under international criminal law:
- Genocide
- War crimes
- Crimes against humanity
- Human trafficking
- Piracy
- Terrorism
[Last updated in March of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]