- It is an international tribunal headquartered in The Hague in the Netherlands.
- It has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, crime of aggression and war crimes.
- ICC is the world’s first permanent international criminal court.
- It is intended to complement existing national judicial systems and it may therefore only exercise its jurisdiction when certain conditions are met.
- States which become party to the Rome Statute becomes member of ICC, thus totaling 123 members.
- The co-operation of the non-party states with the ICC is of voluntary nature.
- But when a case is referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council all UN member states are obliged to co-operate, since its decisions are binding for all of them.
- India is not a signatory to the Rome Statute.
- Burundi has become the first country to officially quit the International Criminal Court (ICC).
International Criminal Court
Permanent Court of Arbitration
- It is an intergovernmental organization located at The Hague in the Netherlands.
- It was the first permanent intergovernmental organization to provide a forum for the resolution of international disputes through arbitration and other peaceful means.
- It provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes between member states, international organizations, or private parties arising out of international agreements.
- The cases span a range of legal issues involving territorial and maritime boundaries, sovereignty, human rights, international investment, and international and regional trade.
- PCA has no sitting judges; instead parties themselves select the arbitrators.
- The organization is not a United Nations agency but has observer status in the UN General Assembly.
- The rulings of PCA are binding but the tribunal has no powers for enforcement.
