The Ruling on Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in the State of Palestine from the Perspective of Amicus Curiae

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant professor of criminal law and criminology, law department, Shahid Chamran university of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Associate professor of internatiobal law, law department, Payam Noor university of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In 2020, the prosecutor of the ICC requested the pretrial chamber to issue a Ruling on Jurisdiction under Article 19(3) of its statute regarding the state of Palestine. The Ruling on Jurisdiction means the beginning of preliminary investigations into the crimes committed by the Zionist regime against the Palestinians in the occupied territories.  Before examining the request of the prosecutor, the pretrial chamber requested the institutions, governments, and experts under the title Amicus curiae to state their considerations in this regard. Therefore, several bills were sent to the court's office, some of which indicated the approval of and others indicated the opposition to the ruling on jurisdiction. With a descriptive and analytical method, the present study explains the dimensions and approaches of the proponents and opponents of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in the state of Palestine?” The research question asks: “What is the reason for the agreement and disagreement of Amicus curiae with the ruling on jurisdiction in the state of Palestine. The results of the research show that the approach of the supporters of the jurisdiction of the Court in terms of customary international law and the provisions of the Rome Statute is correct and in accordance with legal reasonability. Since most of the challenges regarding the state of Palestine are related to the issue of the statehood of Palestine, and the recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state by the UN General Assembly resolution is a sure proof of Palestine as a state, the preliminary branch issued the decision of criminal jurisdiction in the state of Palestine despite the opposition of the friends of the International Criminal Court.

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References

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History

  • Receive Date: 04 November 2022
  • Revise Date: 29 November 2022
  • Accept Date: 19 January 2023

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