The International Criminal Court is complementary to the national jurisdiction so that where the national jurisdictions are willing and able to prosecute the crime, the ICC should not interfere.

Those were the words of former Judge of the International Criminal Court Tuiloma Slade at the 14th Annual Prosecutors Conference at the Fijian Resort this morning.

However Slade said this means that the ICC will seek to exercise its jurisdiction only when the State is unwilling or unable genuinely to act and thus by its complementary role the ICC is and will be a court of last resort.

Slade told those in attendance that the ICC Statute provides for the States to represent their interests before the court and the states have the right to be heard and to be informed about the investigations.

He added that the work of the International Criminal Court is as relevant to small states as it is for larger global players as national crimes do not stop at national frontiers.

Slade said serious crimes placed under the jurisdiction of the court have implications for all states and in turn the court requires support and assistance from all states, large and small.

He noted that crimes in the jurisdiction of the court include genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression which are the most serious of crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The three day conference continues this afternoon.