Background
The Gambia filed an application against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice on 11 November 2019 under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, with a request for provisional measures to protect the Rohingya.
On 22 July 2022 the Court found that it had jurisdiction under Article IX of the Convention and that the application was admissible.
Eleven states have filed declarations of intervention: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Maldives, the Netherlands, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
Public hearings on the merits were held at the Peace Palace from 12 to 29 January 2026, presided over by President Iwasawa, with closed sittings on 21, 22 and 23 January.
The Court's judgment on the merits is pending.
The International Court of Justice settles disputes between states, which separates it from the International Criminal Court that tries individuals.
Application filed:
11 November 2019
Jurisdiction upheld:
22 July 2022
Intervening states:
11
Hearings on the merits:
12 to 29 January 2026
Why it matters for exams: The applicant state, the article conferring jurisdiction and the distinction between the two Hague courts are frequent examination points.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Provisional measures Interim orders of the International Court of Justice — Temporary orders a court issues to protect rights while a case is still being heard.
Declaration of intervention A third state's formal entry into a case — A filing by which a state that is not a party joins proceedings on the interpretation of a treaty.
Background
A circuit bench of the Patna High Court was established at Ranchi with effect from 6th March, 1972, under clause 36 of the Patna High Court's Letter Patent. The bench was created to meet the needs of the Adivasi Population of the Chota Nagpur area in the then State of Bihar. The circuit bench was made a Permanent Bench of Patna High Court by Act no. 57 of 1976, with effect from 8th April 1976. The Jharkhand High Court came into existence after reorganization of state of Bihar into Bihar and Jharkhand, on 15th November 2000. The court's mailing address is High Court of Jharkhand, Doranda, Ranchi.
Circuit bench at Ranchi:
With effect from 6th March, 1972
Permanent Bench:
Act no. 57 of 1976, with effect from 8th April 1976
High Court came into existence:
15th November 2000
Seat:
Doranda, Ranchi
Why it matters for exams: The chronology of a High Court — circuit bench, permanent bench, then a separate court — is a standard objective question, and Jharkhand's is one of the clearest three-stage examples.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Circuit bench — A bench that a High Court holds away from its principal seat for part of the year.
Permanent Bench — A bench of a High Court that sits at a fixed place other than the principal seat throughout the year.
Background
From 1823 onwards the Governors-General and later Viceroys of India moved between unsuitable summer residences at Shimla, until Lord Lytton chose Observatory Hill for what was to be the final Viceregal address in the town. The hill takes its name from Observatory House which was built in 1840 by Captain J. T. Boileau. The institute that occupies the building records that Observatory Hill is a watershed standing figuratively astride India: the waters from one side of the hill flow down to the Bay of Bengal, and the wash from the other heads towards the Arabian Sea. Lord Dufferin persuaded the Secretary of State for India, Lord Randolph Churchill, to sanction a project that was finally to cost thirty-eight lakh rupees, with the annual upkeep of the estate estimated at one and a half lakh rupees. Henry Irwin was appointed architect and chief superintendent of works, work on the site began in 1886, and Lord and Lady Dufferin moved into the building on 23 July 1888. The huge estate of 331 acres is somewhat smaller today, but the estate is still a princely 110 acres. The Simla Conference, called by the Viceroy Lord Wavell to propose the reconstitution of the Viceroy's Executive Council, was held at the Lodge from 25 June to 14 July 1945; after a Cabinet Mission was sent, a tripartite conference between the Congress, the Muslim League and the British took place at Viceregal Lodge from 5-12 May 1946. The estate passed to the President of India after Independence in 1947, the building was renamed Rashtrapati Nivas, and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study now works there.
Site:
Observatory Hill, Shimla
Architect and chief superintendent of works:
Henry Irwin
Final cost:
thirty-eight lakh rupees
Estate:
331 acres originally, 110 acres today
Simla Conference:
25 June to 14 July 1945
Cabinet Mission conference:
5-12 May 1946
Why it matters for exams: One Shimla building carries both the Simla Conference and the Cabinet Mission talks, so a freedom-struggle question and a Himachal Pradesh heritage question can land on the same answer.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Viceregal Lodge — The Viceroy of India's summer residence at Shimla, renamed Rashtrapati Nivas after Independence.
Watershed — A ridge that separates two drainage basins and sends rainfall to different rivers or seas.
Cabinet Mission — A British mission sent to work out the modalities by which power could be transferred to Indians.
Background
The official ASEAN account of the Association's own membership records that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration, also called the Bangkok Declaration, by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984, followed by Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999. Timor-Leste acceded on 26 October 2025 as the eleventh member of ASEAN. Myanmar therefore joined at the same time as Lao PDR and ahead of Cambodia.
Date Myanmar joined ASEAN:
23 July 1997
Joined on the same day:
Lao PDR
ASEAN membership:
eleven Member States of ASEAN
Why it matters for exams: The order and dates of ASEAN accessions are a recurring prelims question, and Myanmar is the member whose accession examiners most often pair with Lao PDR.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Bangkok Declaration ASEAN Declaration, 1967 — The short founding document that created ASEAN, signed in Bangkok by five states.
Background
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by five founding states. ASEAN's official account of the Charter says that with the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter on 15 December 2008, ASEAN will henceforth operate under a new legal framework and establish a number of new organs to boost its community-building process; the changes it lists include a new legal framework, legal personality and new ASEAN bodies. The Charter was fully ratified by every Member State of the time. Singapore was the first to deposit its instrument of ratification with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, on 7 January 2008; Thailand was the last, on 15 November 2008. In effect, the ASEAN Charter has become a legally binding agreement among the 10 ASEAN Member States, and it is to be registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations, pursuant to Article 102, Paragraph 1 of the Charter of the United Nations. Under the Charter ASEAN commits itself to the motto One Vision, One Identity and One Caring and Sharing Community, to a Community built on three pillars - the Political-Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community - and to a Nuclear weapon-free Southeast Asia, and free of all other weapons of mass destruction. Timor-Leste joined on 26 October 2025, making up what is today the eleven Member States of ASEAN. The ASEAN Secretariat is at Jakarta.
Charter entered into force:
15 December 2008
Founding declaration:
ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration), 8 August 1967
First instrument of ratification deposited:
Singapore, 7 January 2008
Last instrument of ratification deposited:
Thailand, 15 November 2008
Member States today:
eleven
Secretariat:
Jakarta
Why it matters for exams: The date the ASEAN Charter entered into force, the Charter's grant of legal personality and the three Community pillars are standard objective questions on regional organisations.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ASEAN Charter Charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — The treaty that gives ASEAN its legal framework and legal personality.
Legal personality — The capacity of an organisation to hold rights and obligations in its own name.
Instrument of ratification — The formal document by which a state confirms that it is bound by a treaty.
Background
The United Nations list of Member States gives Afghanistan Date of Admission: 19-11-1946, which places it among the organisation's earliest members.
Afghanistan is not a founding member of SAARC. A Press Information Bureau release issued at the close of the 14th SAARC Summit, held in New Delhi, records that for the first time in its history, SAARC expanded its membership to welcome Afghanistan as its eighth member. The same release notes that five Observers from outside the region attended the Summit, which also decided to give a similar status to Iran; that the Summit adopted the New Delhi Declaration; that the leaders agreed to designate 2008 as the SAARC Year of Good Governance; and that agreements were signed to establish the SAARC Food Bank and the South Asian University.
The World Trade Organization's member information page states that Afghanistan has been a member of the WTO since 29 July 2016.
Afghanistan does not belong to ASEAN. The ASEAN member states page describes the eleven Member States of ASEAN, the most recent addition being Timor-Leste on 26 October 2025, and Afghanistan is not among them.
UN date of admission:
19-11-1946
Place in SAARC:
Eighth member
SAARC summit of admission:
14th SAARC Summit, New Delhi
WTO member since:
29 July 2016
ASEAN membership:
Not a member
Why it matters for exams: The SAARC founder-versus-eighth-member distinction is one of the most repeated traps in regional-organisation questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation — The South Asian regional grouping that Afghanistan entered as its eighth member.
Observer status Non-member participation in SAARC — A standing that lets a non-member state attend sessions without voting rights.
Background
The Department of Military Affairs (DMA), with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as Secretary, was created to facilitate optimal utilization of resources and promote jointness among the three Services. As per the Second Schedule to Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961, the subjects allocated to the DMA include the Armed Forces of the Union, namely, Army, Navy and Air Force; the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence comprising of Army Headquarters, Naval Headquarters, Air Headquarters and Defence Staff Headquarters; the Territorial Army; works relating to Army, Navy and Air Force; procurement exclusive to the Services except capital acquisitions, as per prevalent rules and procedures; promoting jointness in procurement, training and staffing for the Services through joint planning and integration of their requirements; facilitation of restructuring of Military Commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through establishment of joint / theatre commands; and promoting use of indigenous equipment by the Services. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha the Government stated that the Second Schedule clearly identifies the functions of all the five Departments of the Ministry of Defence and thus there will not be any duplication of functions among them, and that work of 23 sections along with around 160 Civilian officers and staff have been transferred from Department of Defence to DMA.
Secretary of the Department:
The Chief of Defence Staff
Subjects allocated by:
Second Schedule to Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961
Departments in the Ministry of Defence:
Five
Excluded from its procurement:
Capital acquisitions
Transferred from Department of Defence:
23 sections and around 160 Civilian officers and staff
Why it matters for exams: Which subjects sit with the Department of Military Affairs and which do not — capital acquisitions in particular — is the exact distinction an examiner uses to test whether a candidate has read the allocation of business rather than the headlines.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Jointness Jointness among the Services — Planning, training, procurement and operations carried out by the Army, Navy and Air Force together rather than separately.
Theatre command Joint or theatre command — A command that brings units of more than one Service in a given area under a single commander.
Background
Two addresses published by the Prime Minister's Office set out the main pieces of India's development partnership with Afghanistan.
At the inauguration in Herat, the Indian Prime Minister thanked the Afghan side for naming this dam as Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam. The project had been carried out under the name Salma Dam, which an earlier address to the Parliament of Afghanistan referred to while it was still under construction.
The Herat address also records the inauguration of the Afghan Parliament Building in Kabul the previous December; roads built from Zaranj to Delaram; and transmission lines laid to carry power to Afghan homes.
On connectivity, the same address states that India's investment in the port at Chahbahar in Iran will give Afghanistan a new route to the world.
The address to the Parliament of Afghanistan sets out a scheme of 1000 scholarships every year for Afghan students in India, a special scholarship scheme in agriculture science, and the restoration of The Stor Palace in Kabul.
Dam inaugurated at:
Herat
Earlier project name:
Salma Dam
Parliament building:
Kabul
Road built:
Zaranj to Delaram
Scholarships a year:
1000
Why it matters for exams: India-Afghanistan questions almost always turn on the named projects: the Friendship Dam, the Parliament building, the Zaranj to Delaram road and the Chahbahar route.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Chahbahar Chabahar port, Iran — The Iranian port, written Chahbahar in this address, through which India offers Afghanistan a sea route.
Stor Palace Historic building in Kabul — A Kabul heritage building whose restoration the address names as part of the partnership.
Background
The United Nations list of Member States gives the entry Myanmar Date of Admission: 19-04-1948. On trade, the World Trade Organization's member information page states that Myanmar has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 29 July 1948. Because 1 January 1995 is the day the WTO itself came into being, Myanmar is an original member of the organisation rather than a later accession, having carried its membership across from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
UN date of admission:
19-04-1948
WTO member since:
1 January 1995
GATT member since:
29 July 1948
Why it matters for exams: Papers ask both the year a country entered the UN and whether it is an original or an acceded WTO member, and Myanmar is a clean example of a GATT contracting party that became an original WTO member.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade — The post-war trade agreement that governed world trade rules until the WTO replaced it.
Background
The World Trade Organization's member information page, Maldives and the WTO, states that the country has been a member of GATT since 19 April 1983 and a member of WTO since 31 May 1995, within the first year of the organisation's work. The Indian Ocean Rim Association's member states page lists each member with the year it came in: the Republic of Maldives appears with 2018. The Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Mauritius, the Republic of South Africa and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka all carry 1997, the year the association was formed, and only the French Republic, at 2020, came in later than the Maldives.
GATT member since:
19 April 1983
WTO member since:
31 May 1995
Year listed by IORA:
2018
Why it matters for exams: Trade-body membership dates separate the careful candidate from the guesser, and the Maldives is a classic trap because its GATT date is far older than its IORA date.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade — The post-war trade agreement whose work the World Trade Organization took over in 1995.
IORA Indian Ocean Rim Association — A regional grouping of states bordering the Indian Ocean, formed in 1997.
Background
The United Nations Member States page lists Maldives Date of Admission: 21-09-1965, so the country has been a UN Member State since 1965. The Commonwealth's own country profile for the Maldives records under Joined the Commonwealth: 1982; withdrew 13 October 2016, rejoined 1 February 2020. The Maldives therefore stood outside the Commonwealth for a little over three years, while its United Nations membership has run without a break. The profile also notes that the Maldives is a member of the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance, the Blue Charter Action Group on tackling marine plastic pollution.
UN date of admission:
21-09-1965
Joined the Commonwealth:
1982
Withdrew from the Commonwealth:
13 October 2016
Rejoined the Commonwealth:
1 February 2020
Why it matters for exams: Year of UN admission and the broken-then-restored Commonwealth membership are both standard one-mark questions, and the two are easy to confuse.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Commonwealth of Nations — A voluntary association of states that a member may leave and later rejoin.
Background
The Embassy of India in Yangon describes the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Corridor (KMTTC) Project as one of the most significant projects undertaken by India in Myanmar. Its objective is to create a multi-modal transport corridor for shipment of cargo from the eastern ports of India to Myanmar as well as North-Eastern part of India via Myanmar. The project includes a waterway component of 158 km on Kaladan River from Sittwe to Paletwa and a road component of 109 km from Paletwa to Zorinpui on the India-Myanmar border in Mizoram State. Under a bilateral memorandum of understanding for the management of port operations, the Sittwe Port is being operated by India Ports Global Limited (IPGL). The India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway is the other major connectivity project India is involved in, on two segments; the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been identified as the implementing agency for both the components of the project, which include the 112-km long Kalewa-Yargyi sector.
Kaladan waterway component:
158 km on Kaladan River from Sittwe to Paletwa
Kaladan road component:
109 km from Paletwa to Zorinpui
Trilateral Highway sector:
112-km long Kalewa-Yargyi
Implementing agency:
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
Why it matters for exams: The Kaladan corridor and the Trilateral Highway are the two India-Myanmar projects most often asked about, and examiners test the river, the two terminals and the Indian state where the road reaches the border.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Multi-modal transport Multi-modal transport corridor — A freight route that combines more than one mode of transport, such as sea, inland waterway and road.
Background
A release of the President's Office of the Maldives records the ratification of the National Language (Priority) Bill passed by the People's Majlis, the country's legislature, and its publication in the Government Gazette. The release states that the Act aims to protect, develop, preserve and promote the use of the national language, Dhivehi, as declared in the Article 11 of the Constitution. It adds that the Act stipulates that all state communications and correspondences should be in Dhivehi, while not restricting the use of other languages in communicating with people who do not speak Dhivehi. The Act also states that the President should establish a Dhivehi Language Academy and appoint members to the Academy within 90 days of the commencement of the Act.
National language:
Dhivehi
Constitutional provision:
Article 11
Legislature that passed the Act:
People's Majlis
Body the Act requires:
Dhivehi Language Academy
Why it matters for exams: The official language of each neighbouring country, and the constitutional article that fixes it, is a recurring one-mark question in Kerala PSC and UPSC general studies.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
People's Majlis — The legislature of the Maldives, which passes Bills that the President then ratifies.
Dhivehi — The national language of the Maldives, named as such in Article 11 of its Constitution.
Background
The Embassy of India in Yangon describes India and Myanmar as immediate neighbours linked by a 1,643-km land border and a maritime boundary of 1098 kms in the Bay of Bengal. The embassy calls Myanmar the only ASEAN country sharing both a land and maritime boundary with India, and a gateway connecting India's Northeast with Southeast Asia. The embassy records cooperation spanning trade, connectivity, border management and, among other fields, development partnership, capacity building, energy, health, education and cultural exchanges. The embassy says the relationship is guided by India's Neighborhood First, Act East, Indo-Pacific and MAHASAGAR visions, and that the two countries share deep-rooted historical, civilizational, cultural and people-to-people ties.
Land border with India:
1,643-km
Maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal:
1098 kms
Position in ASEAN:
the only ASEAN country sharing both a land and maritime boundary with India
Why it matters for exams: Myanmar's status as India's only ASEAN land neighbour and the length of that border are standard prelims facts, and they explain why every India-ASEAN overland project runs through Myanmar.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations — A ten-plus-member regional grouping of Southeast Asian states founded by the Bangkok Declaration.
Act East Act East Policy — India's policy of deepening economic and strategic links with Southeast and East Asia.
Background
The Food and Agriculture Organization's technical paper on fish and fisheries at higher altitudes records that Afghanistan is a landlocked country, nearly 75% of which is mountainous.
The same paper describes three great river basins. The Amu-Darya, also called the Oxus, forms the boundary with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in the north. The Kabul lies in the northeast and enters Pakistan in the east where it has a confluence with the Indus. The Helmand lies in the southwest and ends in Iran in a desert lake immediately after crossing the border.
An Observer Research Foundation issue brief describes the Wakhan Corridor as a narrow strip of land in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province, protruding from its eastern border and connecting it to China's Xinjiang province, with Tajikistan to its north.
The BBC country profile gives the capital as Kabul and the languages as Pashto and Dari.
Those five neighbours named by the river basins, together with China across the Wakhan, make six land neighbours in all, and the country has no sea coast of its own.
Capital:
Kabul
Land neighbours:
Six
Mountainous share:
nearly 75%
Corridor to China:
Wakhan Corridor, Badakhshan
Why it matters for exams: Which countries border Afghanistan, and which of them is reached only across the Wakhan Corridor, is a standard map question in Kerala PSC and UPSC prelims.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Landlocked No sea coast — A country with no coastline of its own, so its sea trade must cross a neighbour's territory.
Wakhan Corridor Badakhshan province, Afghanistan — A narrow eastward strip of Afghan territory that reaches China's Xinjiang.
Background
The e-Committee, Supreme Court of India records that Himachal Pradesh was formed by the integration of 26 Shimla and four Punjab hill States into a Centrally Administered Area in 1948, headed by a Chief Commissioner; parts of Bilaspur were merged into it on 1st April, 1954, with the headquarters at Shimla.
The Central Government promulgated the Himachal Pradesh (Courts) Order, 1948, and under Paragraph 3 of that Order the Court of Judicial Commissioner was established for Himachal Pradesh, vested with the powers of a High Court under the Judicial Commissioner's Court Act, 1950.
Alongside it two Courts of District and Sessions Judges and 27 subordinate Courts were set up, and the Punjab High Court rules and orders were applied to the courts of the territory with suitable amendments.
After the Delhi High Court Act was enacted by the Government of India, its operation was extended to the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh with effect from May 1, 1967, replacing the Court of Judicial Commissioner with the Himachal Bench of Delhi High Court at Shimla.
Himachal Pradesh attained statehood in 1971 and established its own High Court with headquarters at Shimla, with a Chief Justice and two judges; the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh was Justice M. H. Beg, who is recorded as having become one of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of India.
Seat:
Shimla
First court with High Court powers:
Court of Judicial Commissioner, under the Himachal Pradesh (Courts) Order, 1948
Delhi High Court bench at Shimla:
with effect from May 1, 1967
Own High Court:
on statehood in 1971, with a Chief Justice and two judges
First Chief Justice:
Justice M. H. Beg
Why it matters for exams: High Court questions ask for the seat, the year of establishment and the first Chief Justice, and Himachal Pradesh is the clearest example of a state whose court passed through a Judicial Commissioner stage and a Delhi High Court bench before it stood on its own.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Judicial Commissioner Court of the Judicial Commissioner — The highest court of a small centrally administered territory, exercising the powers of a High Court before a High Court was set up.
Centrally Administered Area Centrally Administered Area — A territory governed directly by the Union through a Chief Commissioner rather than by a state government.
Background
The e-Committee page for the High Court of Jharkhand states that Ranchi is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand.
The Jharkhand State Portal's geography section says most of the state lies on the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which is the source of the Koel, Damodar, Brahmani, Kharkai, and Subarnarekha rivers, whose upper watersheds lie within Jharkhand.
The portal's fact sheet, marked "Data As Per 2011 Census", gives No. of Divisions : 5, No. of Districts : 24, No. of Sub divisions : 38, No. of Blocks : 264 and No. of Villages : 32620.
The same fact sheet gives Population : 32,988,134 and Density of Population : 414 persons / Sq. KM.
It lists the Elephant as State Animal, the Koel as State Bird, Palash as State Flower and Saal as State Tree.
The portal records that forests and woodlands occupy more than 29% of the state, which it says is amongst the highest in India.
Its soil note places red soil mostly in the Damodar valley and the Rajmahal area, and laterite soil in the western part of Ranchi, Palamu, and parts of Santhal Parganas and Singhbhum.
Capital:
Ranchi
Divisions:
5
Districts:
24
Sub divisions:
38
Blocks:
264
Population (fact sheet):
32,988,134
Density of population:
414 persons / Sq. KM
Why it matters for exams: District and division counts, the plateau and the rivers rising on it are the standing geography questions on Jharkhand, and the state portal is the citable source for all of them.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Chota Nagpur Plateau — The plateau on which most of Jharkhand lies and from which the Damodar, Koel, Subarnarekha, Brahmani and Kharkai rise.
Palash Butea Monosperma — The flame-of-the-forest tree, recorded by the state portal as Jharkhand's State Flower.
Background
The page of the e-Committee of the Supreme Court of India on the Punjab and Haryana High Court records that it is the capital of two States of the Indian Union, namely, the Punjab and Haryana, and that although it is the capital of two states the city belongs to none of them and is a Union Territory. The page places Chandigarh 365 meters above the sea-level on the foot-hills of the Shivalik range.
The court descends from the High Court of judicature at Lahore. After Partition the East Punjab High Court of judicature was established at Shimla on August 15, 1947, by an order of the Governor General issued under Section 9 of the Indian Independence Act, 1947.
Shimla's winter was inconvenient for litigants, so the seat of the High Court was shifted to Chandigarh. The Court started functioning at Chandigarh from its present building with effect from January 17, 1955, and was formally declared open on March 19, 1955.
The building was planned by the French Architect Le Corbusier, who had earlier been chosen to execute the new capital project on a 114.59 sq.km. tract at the foot of the Shivalik Hills.
On the reorganisation that brought Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh into existence, the High Court of Punjab was renamed as the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, and the principal seat of the High Court remained at Chandigarh.
The same page records that the sanctioned strength of the High Court is 38 permanent and 30 additional Judges, and notes the Open Hand, the official emblem of Chandigarh, standing in metal beside the High Court.
Principal seat:
Chandigarh
Earlier seat:
Shimla
Began sitting in the present building:
January 17, 1955
Sanctioned strength recorded:
38 permanent and 30 additional Judges
Architect of the building:
Le Corbusier
Why it matters for exams: One High Court serving two States and a Union Territory, where it sits, and the fact that Chandigarh belongs to neither State are repeatedly asked in both Kerala PSC and UPSC prelims.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Union Territory Union Territory — A territory administered by the Union Government rather than by a State government of its own.
Principal seat Principal seat of a High Court — The main place where a High Court sits, as distinct from any bench set up elsewhere.
Background
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) describes itself as the only UN office dedicated to preventing and addressing drugs and crime. Its mission is to tackle the world drug problem, fight organized crime, prevent and counter terrorism, prevent and counter corruption, money laundering and economic crime, and promote fair and effective criminal justice systems. Started in 1997, UNODC has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, and runs a network of field offices covering some 150 countries. It is the guardian of international crime and corruption conventions, among them the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption, and it serves as the secretariat of the global UN policy bodies on drugs, crime and corruption. Those bodies include the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Its support to governments, criminal justice institutions and law enforcement is focused on three areas: policy, data and research, and training and support. UNODC relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from governments.
Started:
1997
Headquarters:
Vienna, Austria
Field coverage:
some 150 countries
Funding:
Voluntary contributions, mainly from governments
Why it matters for exams: Vienna as the headquarters, and the conventions UNODC guards — the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Convention against Corruption among them — are the facts that separate it from other UN bodies in an objective question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNCAC United Nations Convention against Corruption — The global anti-corruption treaty for which UNODC acts as guardian.
UNTOC United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime — The global treaty against organised criminal groups operating across borders.
Background
The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board. WHO lists the main functions of the World Health Assembly as being to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget. The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland. The Executive Board is composed of 34 technically qualified members elected for three-year terms. At its main yearly meeting the members agree upon the agenda for the World Health Assembly and the resolutions to be considered by the Health Assembly, and a second shorter meeting takes place in May-June, as a follow-up to the Health Assembly. The main functions of the Board are to implement the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, and advise and generally to facilitate its work.
WHO's decision-making body:
World Health Assembly
Where the Health Assembly meets:
Geneva, Switzerland, annually
Executive Board members:
34, technically qualified
Executive Board term:
three years
Board's second meeting:
May-June, following the Health Assembly
Why it matters for exams: Which WHO organ does what, the Executive Board's size and term, and the fact that the Assembly appoints the Director-General are all standard objective questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
World Health Assembly — WHO's decision-making body, in which all Member States are represented.
Programme budget — WHO's spending plan, which the Health Assembly reviews and approves.