About the Rules of Evidence for the New International Criminal Court

The creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an important advance in the effort to prosecute and punish the most serious international crimes. It is especially significant to the international community. The author, a lawyer and university assistant professor, became familiar with the Rome Statute of the ICC trough his experiences and research in Germany. Here he explores one ot he many issues that have been raised since the creation of the ICC: the acceptability of its Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which are essential to meeting the Court's objectives. Both the Rome Statute and the Rules of Procedure and Evidence are approached from a theoretical perspective that serves as the basis for a critique of the Court's evidentiary process and of its regulatory scheme for determining admissibility of evidence. Other legal systems are also discussed. The German system is especially important for its regulatory scheme for evidentiary process, and it deserves special mention in any study involving Comparative Law. The author also includes information on the Spanish system, with which he is particulary familiar.