UN releases preliminary budget estimates for International Criminal Court

It will cost approximately $15.7 million to operate the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its first year of existence, but that figure could double if the ICC begins work on a case during that period, according to a United Nations report released today.

The draft budget for the ICC prepared by the UN says that if a case were referred to the Court, its first-year expenditures would amount to $30.1 million. The report points out that savings of over $109,000 could be realized if related meetings, such as those of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute which established the Court, are held in New York instead of at The Hague, where the ICC will be based.

All budget projections are provisional, according to the report, which states that "it should be clearly understood that these estimates are by their very nature indicative and that the precise level of resource requirements will only emerge in the light of experience and as States parties make decisions as to the size and composition of organizational units which they wish to finance."

It is not yet known when the Court will begin to operate. Under the Rome Statute, the ICC will come into existence once 60 States have ratified the document. Currently, there are 37 parties to the Statute, while a total of 139 countries have signed it.