A State Party referral is when any ICC State Party, or member state, refers alleged atrocities to the Prosecutor that have either:

• occurred on its territory or the territory of another State Party

• or

  by one of its nationals or a national from another State Party

Most cases at the ICC came from State Party referrals.   

On July 13, 2000, the Malian Minister of Justice, Malick Coulibaly, wrote a letter to the Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, referring the situation in Mali to the ICC.