News: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister, his former Defence Minister and Hamas leaders as they face allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
1. The International Criminal Court is a permanent international tribunal that was established to investigate and prosecute individuals for serious crimes of international concern.
2. It was established by the Rome Statue, which was adopted in 1998 and officially began operations in 2002. It is headquartered in the Hague, Netherlands.
3. Presently, 124 countries are state parties to the Rome Statues of the ICC. The notable exceptions are India, US, Israel, China, Russia.
4. It prosecutes individuals, not countries, accused of committing genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crime of aggression.
5. The ICC has four main organs: A) Presidency B) Chambers C) Office of the Prosecutor D) Registry.
