This week, legal communities in countries across the globe celebrate World Day for International Justice (also referred to as Day of International Criminal Justice). This day honors the 1998 signing of the Rome Statue at the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the establishment of an International Criminal Court.

With modernization  as our capacity for inhumanity  has  increased so has international justice. Genocide, slavery, torture, mass rape: these all defy the principles of basic human dignity. World Day for International Justice, also called International Justice Day, acknowledges the worth of every human. It pays homage to the court system that has redressed —and now helps to deter—humanity’s most horrific crimes

Facts about World Day for International Justice!

• The World War II trials in Nuremberg, Germany were the first time anyone had been prosecuted for crimes against humanity. Of the 22 Nazi leaders on trial, three were acquitted.
• The word “genocide” first appeared at Nuremberg when a lawyer used it to describe the Nazi extermination plan for the Jews.
• The ICC has completed 200 trials for unspeakable crimes since 1998.

The day attracts international news attention and for groups to use the day to focus attention on particular issues such as genocide and crimes against women.