The ICC, which has 125 member states ... Khan’s visit comes after a trip to Damascus last month by the UN organisation assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria.

The lawyers urged swift action. “We call upon the ICC prosecutor from Damascus to urgently issue arrest warrants for Bashar al-Assad and senior officials based on the existing case files.” ...

The Hague-based ICC, which investigates war crimes, had been unable to investigate Syria because Damascus never ratified the Rome Statute, the tribunal's founding treaty. With Assad gone ...