On Thursday, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court issued its judgment on the appeal filed by Israel against the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I on Israel’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the court pursuant to article 19(2) of the Statute (“impugned decision”).
The Pre-Trial Chamber had dismissed Israel’s challenge to the court’s jurisdiction as premature.
Accordingly, the Appeals Chamber concluded that the Impugned Decision consists of or is based on a ruling on the jurisdiction of the court and, as a result, it considered the appeal to be admissible under article 82(1)(a) of the Statute.
On the merits of the appeal, the Appeals Chamber concluded that the Pre-Trial Chamber committed an error of law by failing to sufficiently address Israel’s argument that it was entitled to make a jurisdictional challenge under article 19(2)(c) of the Statute.
The Appeals Chamber therefore reversed the impugned decision and remanded the matter to the Pre-Trial Chamber for a new ruling on the substance of Israel’s challenge to the jurisdiction of the court.
In light of this, the Appeals Chamber dismissed, as moot, Israel’s request for suspensive effect of two arrest warrants issued after the Impugned Decision and “any other legal acts taken by the court based thereon”.
In addition, today the Appeals Chamber, by majority, dismissed Israel’s appeal against Pre-Trial Chamber I’s decision rejecting Israel’s request for an order to the Prosecutor to issue a new notice pursuant to article 18(1) of the Statute.
The Appeals Chamber, by majority, Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza and Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa dissenting, found the appeal to be inadmissible, considering that the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision was not a decision with respect to admissibility pursuant to article 82(1)(a) of the Statute.
The Appeals Chamber deciding on these two appeals is composed of Judge Tomoko Akane, Presiding, Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa, Judge Gocha Lordkipanidze, and Judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin.
