Why in News?
President Donald Trump authorised economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on ICC investigations, protested against the ICC’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- It is a permanent international court to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression when member states are unwilling or unable to do so themselves.
- The ICC does not replace national criminal justice systems rather, it complements them.
- It can investigate and, where warranted, prosecute and try individuals only if the State concerned does not, cannot or is unwilling to do so genuinely.
- Founding treaty- The Rome Statute.
- Established in - 2002.
- International Tribunal - The Hague, Netherlands.
- The Rome Statute provides that the Court may sit elsewhere whenever the judges consider it desirable.
- It can prosecute crimes committed by nationals of member states or on the territory of member states by other actors.
- Member states - It has 125 member states. Palestine became the 123rd member (2015), Malaysia became 124th State party (2019) and Ukraine became the 125th member.
- India, United States, China and Russia, Myanmar, Israel are not members of ICC.
- Funded by - Contributions from the States Parties and by voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations and other entities.
- The ICC is a permanent autonomous court, whereas other similar courts, established under United Nations are to deal with specific situations, and only have a limited mandate and jurisdiction.
- In 2004, the ICC and the United Nations signed an agreement governing their institutional relationship.
- No one is exempt from prosecution because of his or her current functions or because of the position he or she held at the time the crimes concerned were committed.
- The Court has no jurisdiction with respect to any person who was under the age of 18 when the crimes concerned were committed.
References
- The Indian Express | What is the International Criminal Court?
- ICC | Understanding the ICC
