This is the story and analysis of the unforeseen and astonishing success of negotiations by many countries to create a permanent international court to try atrocities. In 1998, 120 countries astounded observers worldwide and themselves by adopting the Rome Statute for an International Criminal Court. From this event began important and unprecedented changes in international relations and law.This book is for those who want to know and understand the reasons and the story behind these historic negotiations or for those who may wonder how apparently conventional United Nations negotiations became so unusual and successful. This book is both for those who seek detailed legislative history, scholars or practitioners in international law and relations and those simply curious about how the Court came about.