International Criminal Court (ICC)

ICC is the world’s first permanent international criminal court headquartered in Hague, Netherlands

It is governed by the Rome Statute and investigate and tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.

It began functioning on 1st July 2002 when the Rome Statute came into force. Since it has no retroactive jurisdiction, the ICC deals with crimes committed on or after this date. 

Currently 123 countries are state parties to the Rome Statute and recognize the ICC’s authority.

India is not a party to the Rome Statute along with the US and China.

Composition: 18 Judges for a tenure of 9 years. No re-election. 

The Rome Statute grants the ICC jurisdiction over four main crimes;

The Court may exercise jurisdiction where;