# ICC citation format

ICC citations are precise. Replicate the format the Court itself uses on the document being cited; do not invent. The most important rule, expressed differently: **anchor every citation to the actual numbering scheme of the instrument**, not to a half-remembered or popularised form. Article 28 is the classic trap (see below): it does not follow the numbered-paragraph pattern of the other articles, and a non-statutory `28(1)/(2)` form is widely seen — always follow the Statute's own numbering.

## Rome Statute

Format: `Rome Statute, Article X(Y)(Z)`

The Statute's structure is Article → numbered paragraph → lettered subparagraph → roman-numeral sub-subparagraph. So Article 7 paragraph (1) subparagraph (f) is `Article 7(1)(f)`.

Examples:
- `Rome Statute, Article 7(1)(f)` — torture as a crime against humanity
- `Rome Statute, Article 7(1)(g)` — sexual and gender-based crimes
- `Rome Statute, Article 8(2)(b)(xxii)` — sexual violence in international armed conflict
- `Rome Statute, Article 25(3)(a)` — direct perpetration, co-perpetration, perpetration through another
- `Rome Statute, Article 25(3)(b)` — ordering, soliciting, inducing
- `Rome Statute, Article 25(3)(c)` — aiding and abetting
- `Rome Statute, Article 25(3)(d)` — contribution to group crime

### Article 28 — special note on numbering

Article 28 is a common source of citation confusion because, unlike Articles 7, 8 and 25, it does **not** follow the numbered-paragraph pattern. It has **no numbered paragraphs**: after an opening chapeau, it runs straight to two lettered subparagraphs, each subdivided by roman numerals.

- **Article 28(a)** — military commanders or persons effectively acting as military commanders. Sub-elements: `28(a)(i)` (the mental element — knew or, owing to the circumstances, should have known) and `28(a)(ii)` (the failure-to-act element).
- **Article 28(b)** — superior-subordinate relationships not described in subparagraph (a): the civilian / non-military-superior regime. Sub-elements: `28(b)(i)` (knew, or consciously disregarded information), `28(b)(ii)` (the effective-responsibility-and-control nexus), and `28(b)(iii)` (the failure-to-act element).

So `Article 28(a)` is the military-commander regime and `Article 28(b)` is the other-superior (civilian) regime — this **is** the Statute's own numbering, not a shorthand.

**The trap to avoid:** writing `Article 28(1)` / `Article 28(2)`. That numbering does **not** appear in the Rome Statute; it sometimes surfaces in secondary commentary or in national implementing legislation that renumbers the provision. For any output that quotes or cites the Rome Statute, use `Article 28(a)` and `Article 28(b)`, matching the Statute's text, and cite sub-elements as `28(a)(ii)`, `28(b)(iii)`, and so on.

The substantive distinction that must never be blurred is **military command responsibility (`28(a)`, the *Bemba* regime) versus other / civilian-superior responsibility (`28(b)`)** — the two regimes have different mental-element and nexus requirements.

## Elements of Crimes

Format: `Elements of Crimes, Article X(Y)(Z), Element [N]`

Examples:
- `Elements of Crimes, Article 7(1)(f), Element 1`
- `Elements of Crimes, Article 8(2)(b)(xxii)-1, Element 1`

The Elements use chapeau plus specific elements; cite both where the proposition requires it.

## Rules of Procedure and Evidence

Format: `Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Rule [N]` (or `RPE, Rule [N]` after first full mention)

Examples:
- `Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Rule 85` — definition of victims
- `Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Rule 89` — application for participation by victims
- `Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Rule 145` — sentencing considerations

## Regulations of the Court

Format: `Regulations of the Court, Regulation [N]`

Examples:
- `Regulations of the Court, Regulation 42` — protective measures
- `Regulations of the Court, Regulation 55` — modification of legal characterisation
- `Regulations of the Court, Regulation 86` — Trust Fund for Victims procedure
- `Regulations of the Court, Regulation 35(2)` — extension of time limits, "good cause"
- `Regulations of the Court, Regulation 59(1)` — time for response to appeal brief

## ICC decisions, judgments, and orders

Full format:
`Prosecutor v. [Accused], [Chamber], "[Title]", [Document Number], [Date], para. [X]` (or `paras. [X]–[Y]`)

Examples:
- `Prosecutor v. Bemba, Trial Chamber III, "Judgment pursuant to Article 74 of the Statute", ICC-01/05-01/08-3343, 21 March 2016, para. 170`
- `Prosecutor v. Lubanga, Appeals Chamber, "Judgment on the appeal of Mr Thomas Lubanga Dyilo against his conviction", ICC-01/04-01/06-3121-Red, 1 December 2014, para. 469`
- `Prosecutor v. Ntaganda, Appeals Chamber, "Judgment on the appeal of Mr Ntaganda against the 'Second decision on the Defence's challenge to the jurisdiction of the Court in respect of Counts 6 and 9'", ICC-01/04-02/06-1962 OA5, 15 June 2017`
- `Prosecutor v. Katanga, Trial Chamber II, "Judgment pursuant to Article 74 of the Statute", ICC-01/04-01/07-3436-tENG, 7 March 2014, para. 1382`

For Situation decisions:
- `Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pre-Trial Chamber I, "Decision on the Applications for Participation in the Proceedings of VPRS 1, VPRS 2, VPRS 3, VPRS 4, VPRS 5 and VPRS 6", ICC-01/04-101-tEN-Corr, 17 January 2006, para. 96`

Chamber names — use the full form on first reference (`Pre-Trial Chamber I`, `Trial Chamber VI`, `Appeals Chamber`).

## Arrest warrants

Format: `Prosecutor v. [Accused], Pre-Trial Chamber [X], "Warrant of Arrest for [Name]", [Document Number], [Date]`

Examples:
- `Prosecutor v. Al Bashir, Pre-Trial Chamber I, "Warrant of Arrest for Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir", ICC-02/05-01/09-1, 4 March 2009`

Verify document numbers and case slugs on icc-cpi.int before citing recent warrants — the format and content can change in re-issued or unsealed versions.

## Confirmation-of-charges decisions

Format: `Prosecutor v. [Accused], Pre-Trial Chamber [X], "Decision on the confirmation of charges", [Document Number], [Date], para. [X]`

## OTP statements and reports

Format: `ICC Office of the Prosecutor, "[Title]", [Date]`

For formal Policy Papers and Strategic Plans, include the formal title:
- `ICC Office of the Prosecutor, Policy on Children, November 2016`
- `ICC Office of the Prosecutor, Policy on the Crime of Gender Persecution, December 2022`

Note: OTP policies are reissued. Verify the date of the version cited.

## Assembly of States Parties documents

Format: `ICC Assembly of States Parties, [Session], "[Title]", [Document Number], [Date]`

Example:
- `ICC Assembly of States Parties, Resolution RC/Res.6, "The crime of aggression", 11 June 2010`

## Secondary sources — clearly distinct format

Use a format that cannot be confused with a Court document.

Examples:
- Human Rights Watch, *Libya: Surrender ICC Suspect Osama Njeem*, March 2026, available at [URL].
- UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Libya, *Final Report*, A/HRC/52/83, 27 March 2023.
- Schabas, W., *The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute* (3rd ed., OUP 2025), p. 412.

When citing secondary material, put it in a clearly separate part of the output (e.g. a "Context" section). Never use a secondary source to establish what the Court has said or held.

## Document number anatomy

ICC document numbers follow this pattern:

`ICC-[Situation]/[Case]-[Filing Number][-Suffix]`

Examples:
- `ICC-01/05-01/08-3343` → Situation `01/05` (CAR), Case `01/08` (Bemba), Filing `3343`
- `ICC-01/04-01/06-3121-Red` → Lubanga, Filing `3121`, public redacted version
- `ICC-02/05-01/20-1311` → Situation `02/05` (Darfur, Sudan), Case `01/20` (Abd-Al-Rahman), Filing `1311`
- `ICC-01/04-02/06-1962 OA5` → Ntaganda, Filing `1962`, fifth interlocutory appeal (OA5)

Common suffixes:
- `-Red`, `-Red2`, `-Red3` — public redacted versions; cite these
- `-Conf` — confidential; do not cite from a public output
- `-Conf-Exp` — confidential, ex parte
- `-Anx`, `-Anx1`, `-Anx2` — annexes (each annex has its own confidentiality state, e.g. `-AnxB-Conf` vs `-AnxB-Red`)
- `-tENG` — English translation of a French original
- `-tFRA` — French translation of an English original
- `-Corr`, `-Corr2` — corrigenda; cite the corrected version
- `(A)`, `(OA[N])` — appeal designations (final appeal vs interlocutory appeal number N)

## Repeat citations

After a full citation, short form is acceptable:
- First: `Prosecutor v. Bemba, Trial Chamber III, "Judgment pursuant to Article 74 of the Statute", ICC-01/05-01/08-3343, 21 March 2016, para. 170`
- After: `Bemba TJ, para. 172`
- Appeals judgment: `Bemba AJ, para. [X]` (`ICC-01/05-01/08-3636-Red`, 8 June 2018)

Use one convention consistently within a single output.

## When in doubt

Replicate the format used by the Court itself on the document's title page or header. If the document cannot be located on icc-cpi.int or legal-tools.org, the citation does not go in the output without an explicit verification-status flag — see `verification-workflow.md`.