INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
1. Context
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, 2023, for the alleged war crime of unlawfully deporting and transferring children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
2. About International Criminal Court (ICC)
- The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, was established in 1998 under a treaty called the Rome Statute.
- It investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.
- Presently, 123 countries are party to the Rome Statute, including Britain, Japan, Afghanistan, and Germany.
- However, the USA has kept its distance, maintaining that ICC should not exercise jurisdiction over citizens of countries that are not a party to it.
- Similarly, India and China have also abstained from membership.
- The ICC was established to prosecute the most heinous offenses only when a country’s own legal machinery fails to act, as was the case in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
- Unlike the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which deals with countries and inter-state disputes, the ICC prosecutes individuals.
- However, the ICC’s jurisdiction is limited to offenses occurring after it came into effect on July 1, 2002.
- Additionally, the offences should be committed either in a country that ratified the agreement or by a national of a ratifying country.
- The ICC can also practice its jurisdiction over cases referred by the UN Security Council to it.
3. Does the ICC have the power to prosecute Russia?
- This is the first time that the ICC has issued an arrest warrant against one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
- Russia found this outrageous and unacceptable because any decision of the court was
null and void due to Russia not being an ICC member. - However, this move creates a situation where Putin risks arrest every time he travels.
- According to The New York Times, this move, along with the existing sanctions in the West, will further deepen his isolation and limit his overseas movements.
- Moreover, if he travels to a state party to the ICC, then that country must arrest him according to its obligations under international law.
4. Does Ukraine recognize ICC's Jurisdiction?
- Ukraine is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, but it has twice exercised its options to accept ICC’s jurisdiction over alleged crimes under the Rome Statute, occurring on its territory, under Article 12(3) of the Statute.
- Article 12(3) states that if the acceptance of a state that is not a party to the statute is required, the state may accept the jurisdiction of the court for a crime concerned, by making a declaration to the Registrar and cooperating without any delay or exception.
- The alleged crimes, including the deportation of children, were detailed in a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, an UN-mandated investigative body that said some acts may amount to crimes against humanity.
5. How is ICC different from ICJ?
- Unlike the International Court of Justice, the ICC is not part of the United Nations system, with the UN-ICC relationship being governed by a separate agreement.
- The ICJ, which is among the UN’s 6 principal organs, mainly hears disputes between nations. It was established in 1945 and is seated in The Hague (Netherlands).
6. What is the Independent International Commission of Inquiry Report on Ukraine?
- In its report dated March 16, 2023, the commission outlined the body of evidence and how it points to Russian authorities committing a wide range of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in many regions of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
- Many of these amount to war crimes and include wilful killings, attacks on civilians, unlawful confinement, torture, rape, and forced transfers and deportations of children, the report states.
- Contending that the Russian armed forces carried out attacks with explosives in populated areas with an apparent disregard for civilian harm and suffering, the report documented the indiscriminate, disproportionate attacks and failure to take precautions, thereby violating international humanitarian law.
- The commission also found that the Russian military’s waves of attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure from October 2022 and its use of torture could amount to crimes against humanity.
- It also recommended further investigation to hold the responsible agents comprehensively accountable, in a way that includes both criminal responsibility and the victims’ right to truth, reparation, and non-repetition.
Previous year Question
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1. Which of the following characterizes International Criminal Court (ICC)?(UGC NET 2020)
(A) The Rome statute established ICC as a 'Court of last resort'
(B) ICC can exercise jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute
(C) It can not prosecute acts of war crimes
(D) ICC is not located in the Hague
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
1. (A) and (B) only
2. (B) and (C) only
3. (C) and (D) only
4. (A) and (D) only
Answer: 1
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For Prelims: International Criminal Court (ICC), The Hague, Netherlands, Rome Statute, UN Security Council, Article 12(3) of the Statute, and International Court of Justice (ICJ).
For Mains: 1. What is the difference between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
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Source: The Indian Express
