The International Criminal Court has existed in the Hague since 2003 but its founding was not easy

Bashir would be the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal, but not by other courts. The war crimes tribunal in the Hague, for example, proceeded with an indictment against Slobodan Milosevic while he was still in power, and Liberia's Charles Taylor was charged while he was president. Advocates of legal action say sometimes it is the only way of breaking the cycle of tyranny and violence. All such cases are modelled on the precedent of the Nuremberg War Crimes tribunal.