Attempts to question ICC jurisdiction risk undermining justice, entrenching impunity
International Criminal Court
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor writes on 24 July 2024:
The International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) has received dozens of requests for written amicus curiae observations on issues related to its jurisdiction and admissibility of the case in Palestine. These efforts aim to prevent the Court from issuing arrest warrants for Israeli military and political leaders, thereby impeding the process of trying and holding them accountable for their crimes against the Palestinian people in the 1967 Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the crimes committed in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. These ongoing attempts could erode accountability, undermine justice, and entrench impunity.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor considers these interventions a threat to international peace and security. They undermine the legitimacy, impartiality, and independence of the International Criminal Court itself, prioritizing political interests over the pursuit of global justice. This approach protects perpetrators instead of victims, leading to the institutionalization of impunity and the denial of victims’ rights to justice and redress at all levels, particularly the international level.
The Euro-Med cautions that these interventions and the responses to them represent clear and explicit collusion with Israel in its ongoing violations of Palestinian rights. This support allows Israel to continue committing serious crimes against the Palestinian people, including the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, now in its tenth month, without fear of punishment.
The ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials who are accused of committing crimes against Palestinians has sparked serious concerns about the Court’s ability to carry out these orders and start the trial and punishment of the accused without caving into various forms of external political pressure. This pressure aims to undermine the Court’s work and obstruct its procedures, which endangers global peace, security, and the well-being of the world, by disregarding the fundamental principles of international justice and the rule of law.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan made public on 20 May2024 his submission of requests for the issuance of arrest warrants for two high-ranking Israeli officials,Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, to the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the Court.
The Public Prosecutor subsequently affirmed that this request was founded on the evidence gathered and reviewed by his office, which led him to believe that there is reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bear criminal responsibility for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip as of at least 8 October 2023.
It took over six years for the Court to finally declare on March 3, 2021, that it had opened an investigation into the situation in Palestine. The State of Palestine first declared on 1 January 2015 that it acknowledged the Court’s jurisdiction to investigate crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and submitted a referral to the Court on 13 June 2014, calling on it to investigate these crimes.
Last June, the United Kingdom requested leave to file amicus curiae observations to Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC, in an attempt to contest the jurisdiction of the Court and its ability to prosecute Israeli citizens. It claimed that Palestine cannot exercise criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals according to the Oslo Accords, and therefore cannot delegate such jurisdiction to the Court.
The request from the UK is a clear attempt to shield Israeli perpetrators who commit international crimes from responsibility and legal action. Yet, the Court granted the request, delaying the decision on issuing arrest warrants until after it addresses the UK’s observations and the subsequent requests from other parties to submit amicus curiae observations concerning the UK’s observations and other matters related to the Court’s overall jurisdiction.