International Criminal Court

Intergovernmental organization. (Not an organ of UN; ICJ – International Court of Justice and ICC are different entities)
The Hague in the Netherlands.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has been part of the global justice system since 2002.
Headquarters: The Hague in the Netherlands.

Rome Statute

The Rome Statute which established the court has been ratified by 123 countries, but the US is a notable absence.
The Rome Statute is a multilateral treaty which serves as the ICC's foundational and governing document.
States which become party to the Rome Statute, for example by ratifying it, become member states of the ICC.

To prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for the worst crimes - genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
The court has global jurisdiction.
It is a court of last resort, intervening only when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute.

Aren't there already several international courts?

Yes, but they either do different jobs or have a limited remit.
The International Court of Justice (sometimes called the World Court) rules on disputes between governments but cannot prosecute individuals.
The international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have tried individuals for crimes against humanity, but only if they were committed in those territories over a specified period.
Unlike the international tribunals, the International Criminal Court is a permanent body.

Are there any time limits on what it covers?

The court has no retrospective jurisdiction - it can only deal with crimes committed after 1 July 2002 when the Rome Statute came into force.
Additionally, the court has automatic jurisdiction only for crimes committed
on the territory of a state which has ratified the treaty; or
by a citizen of such a state; or
When the United Nations Security Council refers a case to it.

The ICC has been criticized, particularly by the African Union, for its focus on Africa.
In the court's 11-year history it has only brought charges against black Africans.
The ICC denies any bias, pointing to the fact that some cases were self-referred by the country affected, and some were referred by the UN.

Are there other dissenters?

Yes, a number of important countries seem determined not to submit to the jurisdiction of the ICC.
Some have not even signed the treaty, such as China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Turkey.

Who is paying?

The absence of the US in particular makes funding of the court more expensive for others.
Japan, Germany, France and Britain are among the largest contributors.

The court has an outstanding arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir - the first against a serving head of state. [faces charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity]
He attended an African Union summit in South Africa in June 2015, a South African court ordered that he be prevented from leaving the country while it decided whether he should be arrested under the ICC warrant.
The South African government allowed Mr Bashir to leave and in the fallout a judge angrily accused the government of ignoring the constitution (As an ICC signatory South Africa was obliged to arrest him, but didn’t). The government in turn threatened to leave the ICC.

26th-29th October 2015 India-Africa Forum Summit 2015

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is invited.
He will be attending the summit in India.
ICC will request India to arrest him.
But India is under no legal obligation to arrest him as it is not a party of Rome Statute.
After the summit he will leave India and the question will become important under “GS 2 – International Institutions – flora, structure and mandate.”

Source: BBC

PMF IAS. Helping aspirant

International Criminal Court - Rome Statute, Alleged African bias.