Archiv: Internationaler Strafgerichtshof / International Criminal Court (ICC) / established 2002


14.11.2024 - 19:55 [ Human Rights Watch ]

“Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged”: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza

To All Governments

– Publicly condemn Israel’s forced displacement of the civilian population in Gaza as a war crime and crime against humanity, as well as other violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and international criminal law by Israeli authorities, and urge them to immediately halt those crimes and cooperate with international judicial bodies and investigative mechanisms.

– Increase public and private pressure on the Israeli government to stop violating international humanitarian law in the conduct of hostilities, to fully comply with its obligations and the binding orders and advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, and to ensure the entry and safe distribution throughout Gaza of adequate aid and provision of basic services. Consider, in that regard, the review and possible suspension of bilateral agreements with Israel, such as the EU-Israel Association Agreement, as proposed by the governments of Spain and Ireland, and the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement.

– Suspend military assistance and arms sales to Israel so long as its forces commit violations of international humanitarian law with impunity.

– Enforce domestic legislation limiting the transfer of arms and military assistance for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.

– Publicly support the International Criminal Court, uphold the court’s independence, and publicly condemn efforts to intimidate or interfere with its work, officials, and those cooperating with the institution.

– Urge the Government of Israel to grant access to independent, international monitors, including from the UN Special Procedures.

– Impose targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against Israeli officials credibly implicated in ongoing serious violations, for the purpose of ending these violations.

– Address long-standing impunity by Israeli authorities and Palestinian armed groups for serious crimes under international law, and support reparations for all victims of gross human rights abuses.

– Support the creation of a register of damages, caused by unlawful Israeli action to persons in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, for the purposes of calculating reparations.

(…)

To the Prosecutor of the International Crimin19al Court

– Investigate Israeli authorities’ forced displacement and prevention of the right to return as a crime against humanity.

03.11.2024 - 13:47 [ Anadolu ]

Netanyahu arrest warrant delayed in ICC for 5 months

(October 29, 2024)

Delays in the Palestine investigation trace back to 2015 when former ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda initiated a preliminary examination. Although the investigation met the necessary criteria in 2019, it was postponed due to jurisdiction debates over Palestinian territories. The formal investigation began in March 2021, yet no meaningful progress has been made, further delaying requests against Netanyahu and Gallant.

03.11.2024 - 13:10 [ Guardian ]

Spying, hacking and intimidation: Israel’s nine-year ‘war’ on the ICC exposed

(May 28, 2024)

Thanks to their comprehensive access to Palestinian telecoms infrastructure, the sources said, intelligence operatives could capture the calls without installing spyware on the ICC official’s devices.

“If Fatou Bensouda spoke to any person in the West Bank or Gaza, then that phone call would enter [intercept] systems,” one source said. Another said there was no hesitation internally over spying on the prosecutor, adding: “With Bensouda, she’s black and African, so who cares?”

The surveillance system did not capture calls between ICC officials and anyone outside Palestine. However, multiple sources said the system required the active selection of the overseas phone numbers of ICC officials whose calls Israeli intelligence agencies decided to listen to.

According to one Israeli source, a large whiteboard in an Israeli intelligence department contained the names of about 60 people under surveillance – half of them Palestinians and half from other countries, including UN officials and ICC personnel.

In The Hague, Bensouda and her senior staff were alerted by security advisers and via diplomatic channels that Israel was monitoring their work.

03.11.2024 - 13:03 [ 20min.ch ]

Strafgerichtshof: Bedrohte der Mossad die Chefanklägerin und ihre Familie?

(May 28, 2024)

Die Haftbefehle für Benjamin Netanyahu und Yoav Gallant, die der internationale Strafgerichtshof (IStGH) letzte Woche ausgeschrieben hatte, beziehen sich zwar auf Verbrechen, die die israelische Führung während des neuen Gaza-Krieges begangen haben soll, die Untersuchungen begannen aber bereits 2015.

Damals eröffnete die damalige Chefanklägerin des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs, Fatou Bensouda, die Überprüfung von Vorwürfen gegen Einzelpersonen im Gazastreifen, im Westjordanland und in Ostjerusalem.

03.11.2024 - 12:34 [ Guardian ]

Revealed: Israeli spy chief ‘threatened’ ICC prosecutor over war crimes inquiry

(May 28, 2024)

The former head of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, allegedly threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court in a series of secret meetings in which he tried to pressure her into abandoning a war crimes investigation, the Guardian can reveal.

Yossi Cohen’s covert contacts with the ICC’s then prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, took place in the years leading up to her decision to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestinian territories.

That investigation, launched in 2021, culminated last week when Bensouda’s successor, Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, over the country’s conduct in its war in Gaza.

(…)

After the surprise meeting with Kabila and Bensouda in New York, Cohen repeatedly phoned the chief prosecutor and sought meetings with her, three sources recalled. According to two people familiar with the situation, at one stage Bensouda asked Cohen how he had obtained her phone number, to which he replied: “Did you forget what I do for a living?”

28.10.2024 - 18:26 [ Shafaq.com ]

Iraq files formal complaint to UN over Israeli airspace violation

On Sunday, in a unanimous decision, the Arab Parliament approved an Iraqi proposal to take legal action against Israel.

According to a parliamentary source speaking to Shafaq News Agency, the approval occurred during a general session held at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

The proposal, presented by Ahmad al-Jabouri, Vice President of the Arab Parliament and member of the Iraqi Parliament, calls for the formation of a parliamentary team to approach the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and file lawsuits against Israel.

28.10.2024 - 08:49 [ Le Monde ]

Silence from the ICC judges hearing the Netanyahu case

On March 17, 2023, it took the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) just 23 days to confirm the arrest warrants requested by ICC prosecutor Karim Khan against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children‘s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova. But more than five months after being filed on May 20, ICC magistrates are still deliberating on the arrest warrants requested by the same prosecutor for crimes committed in Israel and Gaza since October 7, 2023.

28.10.2024 - 08:12 [ International Criminal Court (ICC) ]

ICC Judges amend the Regulations of the Court concerning the charges

(21 October 2024 )

The judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) adopted an amendment to regulations 52 and 53 of the Regulations of the Court, which enters into force today. The amendments concern the presentation of the document containing the charges and the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber to confirm or decline charges.

Regulations 52 and 53 of the Regulations of the Court, as amended, provide clear direction on how the charges need to be presented by the Office of the Prosecutor and in the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber. The confirmation of charges decision is a pivotal document for the conduct of the trial and defines its scope. By harmonising the presentation of key pre-trial and trial documents, the judges enhance the efficiency and transparency of the confirmation of charges procedure and ensuing trial proceedings.

28.10.2024 - 08:00 [ ABC News ]

One of 3 judges weighing request for ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu and others is replaced

(October 25, 2024)

The ruling did not elaborate or disclose further details, saying that “the personal medical situation of Judge Motoc is entitled to medical confidentiality.”

Motoc was replaced by Beti Hohler, a Slovenian who was elected as a judge at the court last year after earlier serving as a trial lawyer in the court‘s prosecution office.

The decision is likely to further delay a decision on the request by the court‘s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan.

21.09.2024 - 11:35 [ AlMayadeen.net ]

Karim Khan urges ICC judges not to delay arrest warrant for Netanyahu

(August 24, 2024)

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, stressed that the court has jurisdiction to investigate Israelis, urging judges to decide on arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Security Minister Yoav Gallant, which he had requested months ago.

21.09.2024 - 02:31 [ JustSecurity.com ]

Toward a Fuller Understanding of U.S. Legal Objections to ICC Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Part I

(September 16, 2024)

In this essay, I describe and discuss the United States’ view—shared by Germany and others—that arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant would be premature because the Prosecutor did not provide Israel with sufficient notice of the alleged crimes. In my second essay, I’ll discuss the United States’ more fundamental objection that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over Israeli nationals for conduct involving Gaza because (according to the United States) Palestine is not a state that itself would have prescriptive or enforcement jurisdiction over such persons as a matter of international law (an objection that does not depend upon the Oslo Accords).

21.09.2024 - 02:24 [ ForeignPolicy.com ]

The White House’s Defense of Israel Is Undermining International Law

The United States tends to hail the ICC when it prosecutes American enemies, but assails the court when it goes after U.S. allies.

12.09.2024 - 19:41 [ Times of Israel ]

Netanyahu said to ask AG to probe him and Gallant in bid to avert ICC arrest warrant

Channel 12 news said Netanyahu wanted a probe into the ongoing war and how the military campaign against Hamas has been handled to be opened and then closed, with an update filed to the ICC that the charges had been investigated by Israel and therefore do not require the court’s intervention.

According to the report, Baharav-Miara rejected the request on the grounds that it was a blatant ploy and would not satisfy the ICC.

10.09.2024 - 20:10 [ U.S. State Department ]

Secretary Antony J. Blinken And United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy Joint Press Availability

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. Secretary, Mr. Foreign Secretary. Secretary Blinken, could I ask you about a couple of aspects on the Middle East? The Israel Defense Forces just a moment ago released an investigation, or released a preliminary – some preliminary findings to the death of an American citizen, Ms. Aysenur Eygi. Could you say – they said that she was killed most likely by Israeli fire, but unintentionally. Are you confident of that assessment? Does the United States want to see anything further? Are you confident with the assessment that this was unintentional, and what more do you want Israel to do? Could there be repercussions?

For both of you, could I ask you about the International Criminal Court? The – it seems that in the coming days there could be a formal decision on whether to seek an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu, among others. Mr. Foreign Secretary, the Labor government, of course, has taken a slightly different stance from your predecessors, from the Conservatives, on this. Could you say what your position is, whether you support going ahead? And is there unity between the two allies on this? Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Shaun, thank you very much. With regard to the tragic killing of Aysenur, I think what we saw of this investigation is it seems to show what eyewitnesses have said and made clear: that her killing was both unprovoked and unjustified. No one – no one – should be shot and killed for attending a protest. No one should have to put their life at risk just for freely expressing their views.

In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement. We’ve long seen reports of the security forces looking the other way when extremist settlers use violence against Palestinians. We’ve seen reports of excessive force by Israeli security forces against Palestinians. And now we have the second American citizen killed at the hands of Israeli security forces. It’s not acceptable. It has to change. And we’ll be making that clear to the senior-most members of the Israeli Government.

Now, we’re looking carefully at the results of this investigation, but even on an initial read and even accepting it at face value, it’s clear that there are serious issues that need to be dealt with. And we will insist that they be dealt with.

FOREIGN SECRETARY LAMMY: I think the important thing to stress in great democracies such as ours is our belief in the separation of powers. There is an important forum for lawyers and the judiciary and our courts, and then there is also an important forum for politicians and those who represent the people.

We’ve always been clear in the UK in our belief in the international rule of law, the rules-based order, and in IHL issues which are fundamentally important. And we took a decision last week in relation to arms exports that were quasi-legal on the basis of our law as they stand. We believe in international law, we believe in the Statute of Rome, but these must be decisions for the international courts to determine. I don’t want to comment on the assessment that they will reach. I’m qualified as a lawyer in part because of the great Harvard Law School. But I’m going to leave it to the lawyers to determine these very complex matters.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you.

FOREIGN SECRETARY LAMMY: Thanks a lot.

10.09.2024 - 19:05 [ International Criminal Court (ICC) ]

Judge Socorro Flores Liera

Nationality: Mexico (Latin American and Caribbean States)

Term: 11 March 2021 – 10 March 2030

Assumed full-time duty: 1 May 2021

Elected from: List B on 23 December 2020

Assigned to: Pre-Trial Division

10.09.2024 - 18:55 [ International Criminal Court (ICC) ]

Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou

Second Vice-President

Nationality: Benin (African States)

Term: 11 March 2018 – 10 March 2027

Assumed full-time duty: 11 June 2018

Elected from: List B on 8 December 2017

Assigned to: Pre-Trial Division

10.09.2024 - 18:45 [ International Criminal Court (ICC) ]

Judge Iulia Motoc

Nationality: Romania (Eastern Europe)

Term: 11 March 2024 – 10 March 2033

Elected from: List B on 4 December 2023

Assigned to: Pre-Trial Division

10.09.2024 - 18:32 [ Ynetnews.com ]

ICC prosecutor seeks urgent arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant and Hamas leaders

(today)

In filing to court, Karim Khan expresses frustration with court‘s delay in issuing warrants, urging swift action ahead of Netanyahu‘s scheduled speech at UN General Assembly later in September

10.09.2024 - 18:21 [ JustSecurity.org ]

“With Utmost Urgency”: Arrest Warrants and Amicus Observations at the International Criminal Court

(September 9, 2024)

The Court has yet to issue any warrants.

(…)

Four States Parties argued that the Court lacks or may not exercise jurisdiction over Israeli nationals who commit international crimes in Gaza: Argentina, Congo, Czechia, and Hungary. They were joined by the United States, which is not a State Party

10.09.2024 - 18:10 [ DrALJONES / Mastodon.social ]

Report: ICC prosecutor Karim Khan reveals pressure on him from US lawmakers & threats from supporters of both Israel & Russia since pursuing charges against their leaders.

(September 5, 2024)

“You cannot allow an attack on the court,” Khan said. “Then you have no rules-based system.”*

https://aje.io/7u2xai?update=3158140

* Which is exactly what Russia Israel & US want; hence the „Hague Invasion Act“

#US #Russia #Israel #ICC ..

10.09.2024 - 18:05 [ AlMayadeen.net ]

Karim Khan urges ICC judges not to delay arrest warrant for Netanyahu

(August 24, 2024)

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, stressed that the court has jurisdiction to investigate Israelis, urging judges to decide on arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Security Minister Yoav Gallant, which he had requested months ago.

10.09.2024 - 17:56 [ Jerusalem Post ]

ICC delays arrest warrants process against PM, Gallant

(June 27, 2024)

The International Criminal Court Pre-Trial Tribunal on Thursday postponed its decision-making process about whether it will allow ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes.

The postponement came following a June 10 application by England to file a “friend of the court” brief against the ICC’s jurisdiction over the issue.

05.09.2024 - 23:55 [ International Criminal Court (ICC) ]

Judge Socorro Flores Liera

Nationality: Mexico (Latin American and Caribbean States)

Term: 11 March 2021 – 10 March 2030

Assumed full-time duty: 1 May 2021

Elected from: List B on 23 December 2020

Assigned to: Pre-Trial Division

05.09.2024 - 23:40 [ International Criminal Court (ICC) ]

Judge Iulia Motoc

Nationality: Romania (Eastern Europe)

Term: 11 March 2024 – 10 March 2033

Elected from: List B on 4 December 2023

Assigned to: Pre-Trial Division

05.09.2024 - 23:17 [ International Criminal Court (ICC) ]

Judge Reine Alapini-Gansou

Second Vice-President

Nationality: Benin (African States)

Term: 11 March 2018 – 10 March 2027

Assumed full-time duty: 11 June 2018

Elected from: List B on 8 December 2017

Assigned to: Pre-Trial Division

05.09.2024 - 22:53 [ Haaretz ]

Israeli Officials: Not Launching Oct. 7 Inquiry Risks ICC Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

Justice Ministry officials expect the International Criminal Court to decide in the coming days on whether to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, but are cautiously optimistic that the court will decide against the warrants.

05.09.2024 - 22:20 [ International Criminal Court (ICC) ]

Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine

(20 May 2024)

On the basis of evidence collected and examined by my Office, I have reasonable grounds to believe that Yahya SINWAR (Head of the Islamic Resistance Movement (“Hamas”) in the Gaza Strip), Mohammed Diab Ibrahim AL-MASRI, more commonly known as DEIF (Commander-in-Chief of the military wing of Hamas, known as the Al-Qassam Brigades), and Ismail HANIYEH (Head of Hamas Political Bureau) bear criminal responsibility for the following war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine (in the Gaza strip) from at least 7 October 2023:

(…)

05.09.2024 - 22:12 [ DrALJONES / Mastodon.social ]

Report: ICC prosecutor Karim Khan reveals pressure on him from US lawmakers & threats from supporters of both Israel & Russia since pursuing charges against their leaders.

“You cannot allow an attack on the court,” Khan said. “Then you have no rules-based system.”*

https://aje.io/7u2xai?update=3158140

* Which is exactly what Russia Israel & US want; hence the „Hague Invasion Act“

#US #Russia #Israel #ICC ..

05.09.2024 - 22:00 [ theCradle.co ]

ICC prosecutor says world leaders ‚threatened‘ him over Israel arrest warrants

Though several months have passed since Khan‘s application, ICC judges have not issued any arrest warrants.

Speaking to the BBC, Khan said it was important to show the court would hold all nations to the same standard in relation to alleged war crimes. He also welcomed the new UK government‘s recent decision to drop its opposition to the arrest warrants.

05.09.2024 - 21:49 [ Middle East Eye ]

‘We need to apply the law‘: ICC prosecutor defends Netanyahu arrest warrant

Khan pointed out that the same political leaders who had applauded the court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin had condemned the same being done for the Israeli leadership.

“We need to apply the law in a way that is equal, because if we don’t, and importantly if we’re not seen to, we’re going to lose all the architecture, not just the ICC, that has been built on human suffering since Nuremberg.”

05.09.2024 - 21:41 [ ORF.at ]

IStGH-Chefankläger verteidigt Haftbefehl gegen Netanjahu

Der Chefankläger des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs (IStGH) hat die beantragten Haftbefehle gegen Israels Regierungschef Benjamin Netanjahu und Verteidigungsminister Joav Galant verteidigt. Ihm sei von mehreren führenden Politikern und anderen von dem Schritt abgeraten worden, sagte Karim Khan in einem BBC-Interview. Es sei aber wichtig zu zeigen, dass für alle Länder die gleichen Maßstäbe gälten, wenn es um mutmaßliche Kriegsverbrechen gehe.

30.04.2024 - 12:00 [ Le Monde ]

Netanyahu fears international arrest warrant from ICC

A well-informed source in The Hague confirmed to Le Monde on Sunday that an „event is imminent,“ but did not specify the nature of the charges or the names of those involved.

29.04.2024 - 23:30 [ Fox News ]

Johnson urges Biden to intervene in ICC‘s reported plan for Netanyahu arrest warrant

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is calling on President Biden to utilize the U.S.‘s influence on the world stage to block the International Criminal Court‘s (ICC) reported plan to issue arrest warrants for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

29.04.2024 - 07:15 [ New York Times ]

Israeli Officials Believe I.C.C. Is Preparing Arrest Warrants Over War

The Israeli officials did not disclose the nature of the information that led them to be concerned about potential I.C.C. action, and the court did not comment on the matter.

Arrest warrants from the court would probably be seen in much of the world as a humbling moral rebuke, particularly to Israel, which for months has faced international backlash over its conduct in Gaza, including from President Biden, who called it “over the top.”

29.04.2024 - 06:46 [ Haaretz ]

Israel Scrambles as Netanyahu, Gallant and IDF Chief Face ICC Arrest Warrants for War Crimes in Gaza

Warrants could be issued this week against Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and army chief Herzl Halevi. Some legal experts say the attorney general and army lawyers are partly to blame for not doing enough to prevent Israeli violations of international law

28.04.2024 - 08:29 [ Times of Isrel ]

Israel, US said working to prevent ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu

According to reports in several Israeli media, the United States is part of a last-ditch diplomatic effort to prevent the International Criminal Court from issuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.

13.02.2024 - 19:27 [ Karim A. A. Khan KC, The Prosecutor, International Criminal Court ]

I am deeply concerned by the reported bombardment and potential ground incursion by Israeli forces in Rafah. My Office has an ongoing and active investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine.

This is being taken forward as a matter of the utmost urgency, with a view to bringing to justice those responsible for Rome Statute crimes.

All wars have rules and the laws applicable to armed conflict cannot be interpreted so as to render them hollow or devoid of meaning. This has been my consistent message, including from Ramallah last year. Since that time, I have not seen any discernible change in conduct by Israel. As I have repeatedly emphasised, those who do not comply with the law should not complain later when my Office takes action pursuant to its mandate.

To all those involved: my Office is actively investigating any crimes allegedly committed. Those who are in breach of the law will be held accountable.

I also continue to call for the immediate release of all hostages. This also represents an important focus of our investigations.

22.01.2024 - 12:55 [ Isabel Oliveira / Twitter ]

Hello @CIJ_ICJ and @IntlCrimCourt any news on when Israel will be given an injunction, then convicted of genocide and its officials and army at The Hague and then in prison? Hurry up. We’re running out of time and each day you waste cost hundreds of innocent lives

(20.01.2024)

30.12.2023 - 16:30 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Klage vor Internationalem Gerichtshof: Südafrika wirft Israel Völkermord vor

Der IGH soll laut Statut Konflikte zwischen Staaten möglichst friedlich beilegen. Seine Urteile sind in der Regel bindend. Allerdings besitzen die UN-Richter keine Machtmittel, um einen Staat zur Umsetzung zu zwingen. Sie können aber den UN-Sicherheitsrat aufrufen, in der Sache tätig zu werden.