Israel Responds to the ICC Prosecutor's Request for Arrest Warrants
Published by The Lawfare Institute
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On Oct. 7, the State of Israel responded to the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor’s request for arrest warrants. Israel requested, under Article 18(1) of the Statute of the ICC, an order from the ICC pre-trial chamber that would require the prosecutor to notify Israel of investigations “into events in and around Gaza from 7 October 2023 onwards.” Israel also challenged the ICC’s jurisdiction over the pending applications for arrest warrants of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant pursuant to Article 19(2)(c) of the Rome Statute.
The request for notice argued that the request for arrest warrants of Netanyahu and Gallant must be stayed until the prosecution gives notice “providing sufficiently specific information concerning the scope of its investigation.”
The jurisdiction challenge argued, in part, that since Palestine does not fulfill the jurisdictional precondition of the “territory” of a State, the Rome Statute does not grant the ICC jurisdiction in this case.
The notice request is available here, and the jurisdiction challenge is available here. Both documents can be viewed below:
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