The Rome Conference and the adoption of the International Criminal Court Statute were truly significant events in the development of international criminal law. The Court has universal jurisdiction over the list of crimes in the Statute. The future effectiveness of the ICC can be discussed from the viewpoint of five guideposts: the degree of its jurisdiction over international crimes; the possibility of the politicization of the Court; the extent to which it is a substitute for the system of administering international criminal law; its independence from the UN and other internal organizations; and conceivable support from powerful states. If ICC can perform well in these five areas, then international society may have a brand new face.