International criminal law (ICL) is the subset of international law under which individual people can be prosecuted for certain crimes, such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity (see Figure 20.1 ). By curbing impunity for these crimes, ICL seeks to contribute to international peace and security, deter future atrocities, and provide justice and redress to the ‘victims’. 1 The fi rst prosecutions under ICL took place in the wake of World War II (WWII), and after a hiatus during the Cold War, prosecutions have continued in a number of international institutions, most notably United Nations’ (UN’s) ad hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court (ICC).