The complaint against international law has been that it lacks teeth. Absent enforcement authority, the norms and principles that govern international behavior are merely exhortations -- even though they can have sufficient precedence to be considered binding. That changed April 11 when 10 countries submitted to the United Nations their ratification of the treaty establishing an International Court of Criminal Justice. At last, an authority will be able to threaten tyrants and criminals with justice.

According to the coalition for the lobby group International Criminal Court, since the end of World War II, more than 86 million civilians have died in some 250 conflicts worldwide, and more than 170 million people have been denied their rights, property and dignity. To remedy that situation and end the cries of "victor's justice," the U.N. convened a conference to set up a permanent international criminal court that would hold leaders responsible for their crimes. The treaty to establish an ICC was agreed on in Rome in 1998, and was signed by 139 countries. Sixty countries needed to ratify the agreement for it to come into effect.

The magic number was reached when a clutch of nations pushed the total to 66 last week. "Those who commit war crimes, genocide or other crimes against humanity will no longer be beyond the reach of justice," said U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. "Humanity will be able to defend itself, responding to the worst of human nature with one of the greatest human achievements: the rule of law." Human rights officials believe that as many as 100 countries will have ratified the treaty by early next year. The treaty goes into effect July 1, and the court will begin operating in The Hague next year after judges and prosecutors are selected.