The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas officials on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
International Criminal Court
- Establishment: ICC is the first international permanent court, which investigates and prosecutes people accused of serious international crimes.
- Treaty of Rome: ICC was established by the Treaty of Rome, which was adopted in 1998 and came into force in 2002.
- Jurisdiction: ICC has jurisdiction over 4 main crimes (such as war crimes, crimes against humanity etc.).
Membership
- 124 countries are members of the Treaty of Rome.
- India, Israel, USA, Russia and China are not members of the Treaty of Rome.
- Palestine became the 123rd member in 2015 and Malaysia became the 124th member in 2019.
Administration
- Political delegation: Each member state has a representative who is part of the court’s management and legislature.
- Official languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.
- Enforcement
- ICC decisions are binding.
- The ICC does not have its own police force and relies on the cooperation of countries to arrest suspects.
Additional components
- Trust Fund for Victims (2004): It provides assistance, support and compensation to victims.
- Detention centers: It detains those arrested in a safe and humane manner.
- Complementarity principle: The ICC complements national criminal systems and prosecutes only when states are unable or unwilling to do so.
Jurisdiction of the ICC under the Treaty of Rome
Ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes
- If the crimes were committed by a citizen of a member state, within the territory of a member state or in a state that has accepted ICC jurisdiction
- ICC can prosecute cases referred by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Aggression crimes
- ICC can prosecute cases referred by the UNSC, whether by a member state or a non-member state.
- ICC has no jurisdiction over a person below the age of 18.
Limitations of ICC
- Lack of jurisdiction: ICC depends on the cooperation of countries, as it does not have its own police force.
- Absence of some countries: Countries like India, USA, Russia and China have not taken membership of ICC.
- Lack of cooperation: Many member states do not cooperate in arrests and extraditions.
- Lack of monitoring: There is no effective monitoring on the powers of ICC prosecutor and judges.
- Lack of retrospective jurisdiction: ICC can only prosecute crimes committed after 2002.
- Lack of resources: ICC lacks adequate human resources and financial support.