News:International Criminal Court(ICC) have approved to open an investigation into crimes committed against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority.
Facts:
About International Criminal Court(ICC):
- The International Criminal Court(ICC) is an intergovernmental international tribunal.It is located in the Hague,Netherlands.
- It is governed by an international treaty called the Rome Statute which entered into force on July 1,2002.India is not a party to the Rome Statute.
- It is the first permanent international criminal court which aims to hold those responsible for their crimes and to help prevent these crimes from happening again.
- As of March 2019,there are 122 ICC member states.42 states are non-party, non-signatory states.
- ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for (a)international crimes of genocide (b)crimes against humanity (c)crime of aggression and (d)war crimes.
- ICC is intended to complement existing national judicial systems and it exercise its jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute criminals or when the United Nations Security Council individual states refer situations to the Court.
Additional information:
About Rohingya:
- Rohingya are an ethnic group, largely comprising Muslims, who predominantly live in the Western Myanmar province of Rakhine.
- In Myanmar, they are they are classified as resident foreigners or as associate citizens.
- Lakhs of Rohingyas have fled to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and India after facing religious and ethnical persecution in Myanmar. This has led to a historic migration crisis and a large humanitarian crisis.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ICJ AND ICC:
| INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE- ICJ | INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT – ICC | |
| ESTABLISHMENT | 1946 | 2002 |
| RELATIONSHIP WITH U.N | Official court of U.N, commonly known as “World Court”. | Independent. Not governed by U.N. Can receive referrals from UNSC. Can initiate prosecution without UN action. |
| HEADQUARTERS | Peace Palace , Hague | Hague |
| JURISDICTION | U.N Member states. Can give advisory opinions to UN bodies. Cannot try individuals. Applies International Law | Individuals accused of international crimes. Uses International Law, as war crimes violate Geneva Convention. |
| TYPES OF CASES | Sovereignty, boundary disputes, maritime disputes, trade, natural resources, human rights, treaty violations, treaty interpretation, etc. | Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes of aggression. |
| DERIVES AUTHORITY FROM | States that ratify the U.N. Charter become parties to the ICJ Statute. Non-UN member states can also become parties to the ICJ by ratifying the ICJ Statute. | Rome statue |
| APPEALS | ICJ decision is binding. UNSC can review if states do not comply. | Appeals Chamber, according to Rome Statute. |
