1) ICC Issue Arrest Warrant against Putin: As of March 2023, Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, and therefore, the ICC has no jurisdiction over crimes committed on its territory. However, the ICC can investigate and prosecute crimes committed by individuals from other countries who committed the alleged crimes on the territory of a state party to the Rome Statute.
- Ukraine is also not a State Party to the Rome Statute”, but it has twice exercised its options to accept ICC’s jurisdiction over alleged crimes under the Rome Statute, occurring on its territory, under Article 12(3) of the Statute.
- Article 12(3) states that if the acceptance of a state that is not a party to the statute, the state may accept the jurisdiction of the court for a crime concerned, by making a declaration to the Registrar and cooperating without any delay or exception.
2) International Criminal Court(ICC): It is an intergovernmental organisation and international tribunal headquartered in Hague.
- It looks into and prosecutes those accused of heinous offences such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and acts of aggression.
- It is the first international criminal court that is permanently established.
- The Rome Statute, which served as its foundation document, became effective on July 1, 2002. The fact that it had a cooperation arrangement with the UN while not being a United Nations organisation must also be recognised.
- India, like the US and China, is not a party to the Rome Statute.
3) Sarus crane: It is the tallest flying bird in the world found mostly in pairs or small groups of 3 or 4.
- They mate for life with a single partner and its breeding season coincides with heavy rainfall in monsoon. They are known for their ability to live in association with humans.
- Omnivorous; they are found in shallow wetlands or in cropped agricultural areas.
- Distribution – Sarus crane has 3 disjunct populations – the Indian sub-continent, south-east Asia and northern Australia.
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule IV; IUCN: Vulnerable; CITES and CMS: Appendix II
- It is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh
4) Possession of Wildlife in India: No person is allowed to acquire or keep in his possession, custody or control any wildlife which is state property, under Section 39 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. If anyone does so they must report it to the nearest police station or the authorised officer within 48-hours of obtaining such possession.
- Burden of proof – Further, under Section 57 of the Act, if a person is found in possession, custody or control of any wildlife, the burden of proof for establishing that it is not illegal is on the person.
5) ADVAIT (Advanced Analytics in Indirect Taxation): The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Ministry of Finance, signed a MOU for data exchange between the two organisations.
- The MoU will facilitate the sharing of data and information between MCA and CBIC on an automatic and regular basis.
- In addition to regular exchange of data, MCA and CBIC will also exchange with each other, on request, any information available in their respective databases, for the purpose of carrying out scrutiny, inspection, investigation and prosecution.
