218. That consistent interpretation was consolidated in international law in 1998 with the
adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, establishing that court’s
jurisdiction with regard to crimes against humanity 161 which, 162 evidently, are not subject to
statutory limitations. 163
219. Recently, in 2017, the last version of the Text of the draft articles on crimes against
humanity (hereinafter, also, “Draft articles”), adopted by the International Law
for the crime set out in article 16” (Article 8); “[…] the State Party in the territory of which an individual alleged to
have committed a crime set out in article 17, 18, 19 or 20 is found shall extradite or prosecute that individual” (Article
9); “1. No one shall be convicted under the present Code for acts committed before its entry into force. 2. Nothing
in this article precludes the trial of anyone for any act which, at the time when it was committed, was criminal in
accordance with international law or national law” (Article 13). In addition, among the crimes against the peace and
security of mankind, the International Law Commission indicated the following as crimes against humanity: “(a)
murder; […] (c) torture; […] [and] (j) other inhumane acts which severely damage physical or mental integrity,
health or human dignity, such as mutilation and severe bodily harm” (Article 18).
161
Cf. Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted at Rome on July 17, 1998, and entered into force on July
1, 2002 (hereinafter “the Statute of the International Criminal Court”) “Article 5. Crimes within the jurisdiction of the
Court. The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most serious crimes of concern to the international
community as a whole. The Court has jurisdiction in accordance with this Statute with respect to the following crimes:
(a) The crime of genocide; (b) Crimes against humanity; (c) War crimes; (d) The crime of aggression.”
Cf. Statute of the International Criminal Court, “Article 7. Crimes against humanity. 1. For the purpose of this
Statute, "crime against humanity" means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or
systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack: (a) Murder; (b)
Extermination; (c) Enslavement; (d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population; (e) Imprisonment or other severe
deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; (f) Torture; (g) Rape, sexual
slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of
comparable gravity; (h) Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic,
cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible
under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction
of the Court; (i) Enforced disappearance of persons; (j) The crime of apartheid; (k) Other inhumane acts of a similar
character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health. 2. For the
purpose of paragraph 1: (a) "Attack directed against any civilian population" means a course of conduct involving the
multiple commission of acts referred to in paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance
of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack; (b) "Extermination" includes the intentional infliction of
conditions of life, inter alia the deprivation of access to food and medicine, calculated to bring about the destruction
of part of a population; (c) "Enslavement" means the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of
ownership over a person and includes the exercise of such power in the course of trafficking in persons, in particular
women and children; (d) "Deportation or forcible transfer of population" means forced displacement of the persons
concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds
permitted under international law; (e) "Torture" means the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, whether
physical or mental, upon a person in the custody or under the control of the accused; except that torture shall not
include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions; (f) "Forced pregnancy" means
the unlawful confinement of a woman forcibly made pregnant, with the intent of affecting the ethnic composition of
any population or carrying out other grave violations of international law. This definition shall not in any way be
interpreted as affecting national laws relating to pregnancy; (g) "Persecution" means the intentional and severe
deprivation of fundamental rights contrary to international law by reason of the identity of the group or collectivity;
(h) "The crime of apartheid" means inhumane acts of a character similar to those referred to in paragraph 1,
committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group
over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime; (i) "Enforced
disappearance of persons" means the arrest, detention or abduction of persons by, or with the authorization, support
or acquiescence of, a State or a political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge that deprivation of freedom
or to give information on the fate or whereabouts of those persons, with the intention of removing them from the
protection of the law for a prolonged period of time. 3. For the purpose of this Statute, it is understood that the term
"gender" refers to the two sexes, male and female, within the context of society. The term "gender" does not indicate
any meaning different from the above.”
162
Cf. Statute of the International Criminal Court. “Article 29. Non-applicability of statute of limitations. The crimes
within the jurisdiction of the Court shall not be subject to any statute of limitation.”
163
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