International Criminal Court targeted with sanctions over Afghanistan war crimes case

International Criminal Court targeted with sanctions over Afghanistan war crimes case

Part of: GS-Prelims and GS-II – International Relations

In News:

• The US government has recently issued an executive order authorising sanctions against individuals who were involved in an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into whether U.S. forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan. 

Important value additions 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) 

• It is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague, Netherlands. 
• It has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of:
  • genocide
  • crimes against humanity 
  • war crimes 
  • crime of aggression. 
• It is intended to complement existing national judicial systems. 
• It may exercise its jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute criminals. 
• It may only investigate and prosecute crimes committed within member states, crimes committed by nationals of member states, or crimes in situations referred to the Court by the United Nations Security Council.
• The ICC lacks universal territorial jurisdiction.