The paper describes the principles on which the Rome Statute was based, and outlines how those principles will be realized in the operation of the Court and in the role of states interacting with it. The statute amounts almost to a comprehensive criminal code. As the time for ratification and implementation approaches, it will no longer be the focus only of the experts who created it, but will increasingly become an issue for national legislators, ministerial officials, media, and civil society generally. The paper was intended to help those who wish to comprehend the potential meaning of the Court for their countries. It begins with a brief outline of the history leading to the adoption of the Statute and the steps toward establishing the Court itself. It then describes the structure and functions of the Court before going on to describe the relationship between state parties and the Court with respect to both national proceedings for crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction and national cooperation with the Court in its own proceedings. A conclusion reiterates some of the reasons for governments to participate in the Court regime in light of the statute’s principles and the benefits the Court may bring to states and to the international system as a whole. Note, appendix