ICC Appeals Chamber Authorizes Investigation Into Crimes in Afghanistan

March 20, 2020
Lawfare Blog

...As discussed in our previous Lawfare post and in other articles (by former ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno OcampoKevin Jon HellerDov JacobsKatherine Gallagher and Nikki Reisch), the April 2019 Pre-Trial Chamber decision not to authorize the investigation hinged on the notion that the investigation was not in the “interests of justice.” Under the Rome Statute, Article 53(1)(c) requires the prosecutor to consider whether “[t]aking into account the gravity of the crime and the interests of victims, there are nonetheless substantial reasons to believe that an investigation would not serve the interests of justice.” After finding the request met the jurisdiction and admissibility requirements of Article 15(4), the Pre-Trial Chamber determined it had the authority to independently evaluate whether an investigation would serve the interests of justice. ...

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Last modified 

April 6, 2020