Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asks to open an investigation for war crimes in Ukraine

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, announced today that he will ask the judges to open an investigation for war crimes and crimes against humanity “committed by any of the parties throughout the territory of Ukraine”.

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The investigation, if authorized, will deal with crimes committed on the Crimean peninsula and in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, as announced in December 2020 by Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, but the British jurist added that the investigations will include crimes related to “the expansion of the conflict in recent days” in Ukraine.

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“I have already tasked my team with exploring all evidence preservation opportunities”reported khan it’s a statement.

A room of preliminary questions of the CPI must analyze whether to give the green light to the investigation, although khan recalled today that, if one of the 123 States Parties to the ICC submitted a referral, the Prosecutor’s Office could start the investigations directly, without the authorization of the judges.

“I will continue to closely follow developments on the ground in Ukraine and call again for restraint and strict adherence to applicable rules of international humanitarian law.”said the chief prosecutor.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine are States Parties to the ICC.but Kiev filed two applications, in November 2013 and February 2014, accepting the court’s jurisdiction.

The announcement of the chief prosecutor of the CPI It comes a day after the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s highest court, confirmed that it had received a lawsuit from Ukraine against Russia accusing Moscow of genocide.

Both courts are located in the Dutch city of The Hague. The ICC processes the criminal liability of individuals, while the ICJ deals with disputes between states.

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Source: Elcomercio

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