New Zealand Embassy The Hague, The Netherlands

Relations with International Courts in the Netherlands

The New Zealand Embassy in The Hague is responsible for relations with the various international courts based in The Hague.

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It functions in accordance with its Statute, which is an integral part of the UN Charter, and its Rules.
The Court is composed of 15 members. In November 2005, New Zealand Supreme Court Judge Sir Kenneth Keith was elected to the Court for a nine-year term. He is the first New Zealander to serve on the Court.
The International Criminal Court was established by the Rome State of the International Criminal Court, which was adopted in 1998. The International Criminal Court is a permanent court with the power to exercise its jurisdiction under specific circumstances over individuals who, after 1 July 2002, have committed the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. New Zealand ratified the Rome Statute in 2000. States Parties to the Rome Statute meet annually in the Assembly of States Parties (ASP). New Zealand is currently serving on the Bureau of the ASP.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia was established by Security Council resolution to prosecute people responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the former Yugoslavia since 1991.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration administers arbitration, conciliation and fact finding in disputes involving various combinations of states, private parties and intergovernmental organizations. It works under its own modern rules of procedure, which are based upon the highly regarded and widely used UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.