The International Criminal Court (ICC) has made available the response of Attorney General Karim Khan to Israel’s application challenging its jurisdiction.
In his response, Chief Prosecutor Khan emphasized that Israel’s objection was made prematurely, that it did not eliminate the court’s authority to investigate, and that the objection should be rejected immediately.
The response stated that Israel’s objection was premature under Article 19(2) of the Rome Statute.
Khan’s response stated that the right to appeal would only arise after the court decided under Article 58 of the Rome Statute.
Rome-Statute-engIn the response, it was noted that Israel’s failure to grant jurisdiction to the court would not eliminate the ICC’s investigative authority and that it was sufficient for Palestine to authorize the ICC for the court to exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed in Palestinian territory.
In the response of the Prosecutor’s Office, it was requested from the Chamber dealing with the jurisdiction objection to decide on the request urgently and decide to reject the objection
Khan’s response also emphasized that the court should not keep such objections and answers secret but make them public.
Israel objects to arrest warrant for Netanyahu
The Israeli government objected to the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant because it lacked jurisdiction.
In its statement submitted to the ICC, Israel claimed that Attorney General Karim Khan’s request for the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant was unlawful and without authority.
ICC Prosecutor Khan requested an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant on May 20.
Although 144 days have passed, the court has not yet ruled on Khan’s request.
