Venezuela Announces Withdrawal from International Criminal Court

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister has announced that the country has formally notified the United Nations of its “irrevocable” decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

• The decision comes while the ICC has been conducting a multi-year investigation into alleged crimes against humanity involving members of Venezuela’s armed forces and other officials.
• The move had been anticipated since December, when Venezuela’s National Assembly voted to repeal a law ratifying the Rome Statute, paving the way for the country’s withdrawal from the ICC.
• The development came amid major political changes in Venezuela, including the removal of former President Nicolás Maduro from power.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

• The ICC is an international court established to prosecute individuals accused of the gravest crimes of concern to the international community.
• It has jurisdiction over four core crimes:
  • Genocide
  • War crimes
  • Crimes against humanity
  • Crime of aggression
• The ICC acts as a court of last resort, meaning it seeks to complement rather than replace national judicial systems.
• The Court is governed by the Rome Statute, an international treaty that serves as its founding legal instrument.
• The ICC is not a United Nations organisation, but it maintains a cooperation agreement with the United Nations.
• When a situation falls outside the ICC’s jurisdiction, the UN Security Council can refer the situation to the ICC, thereby granting the Court jurisdiction.
• The UN Security Council has previously referred situations in Darfur (Sudan) and Libya to the ICC.
• India is not a party to the International Criminal Court. India did not sign the Rome Statute, citing concerns related to:

• National sovereignty
• The omission of terrorism from the ICC’s jurisdiction
• The powers given to the UN Security Council.

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