ABSTRACT
The inclusion at the Rome Conference of statutory provisions for an independent Prosecutor with faculties to target situations on his or her own motion has been hailed by many as a major step forward in the establishment of an effective, impartial and credible International Criminal Court. When the issue was discussed at International Law Commission, the majority of the experts considered that the prosecution of the crimes covered by the Statute should not be undertaken without a complaint by a State or a referral by the Security Council, "at least not at the present stage of development of the international legal system". For the proponents of the ex officio powers, an expanded role for the Prosecutor would enhance not only his or her autonomy and independence but also the independence and credibility of Court as a whole, which would be able to function on behalf of the international community rather than of a particular complainant State or the Security Council.
