An intervention by the UK government at the international criminal court is expected to delay a decision over whether an arrest warrant can be issued against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
According to court papers, after the prosecutor made the requests the UK argued that the judges hearing the case must address “outstanding” questions about the ICC’s jurisdiction over Israeli citizens before deciding whether to issue the warrants.
The decision to allow the UK to submit arguments in the case has caused concern among some international law experts that Britain’s intervention is politically motivated and an attempt to reopen legal issues many argue have previously been settled.
However, last month the UK government told an ICC pre-trial chamber the 2021 ruling “did not determine” jurisdictional issues relating to the Oslo accords, the interim peace agreements signed between the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Israel in the 1990s.
She said the UK appeared to be “prioritising diplomatic relationships over accountability for international crimes” and that its attempt to challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction also failed “to address Israel’s noncompliance with the Oslo accords, particularly concerning settlement expansions in the West Bank”.
Responding to the decision, Clive Baldwin, a senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch, said: “The UK should not be leading the charge for double standards in victims’ access to justice.
The original article contains 564 words, the summary contains 226 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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An intervention by the UK government at the international criminal court is expected to delay a decision over whether an arrest warrant can be issued against the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
According to court papers, after the prosecutor made the requests the UK argued that the judges hearing the case must address “outstanding” questions about the ICC’s jurisdiction over Israeli citizens before deciding whether to issue the warrants.
The decision to allow the UK to submit arguments in the case has caused concern among some international law experts that Britain’s intervention is politically motivated and an attempt to reopen legal issues many argue have previously been settled.
However, last month the UK government told an ICC pre-trial chamber the 2021 ruling “did not determine” jurisdictional issues relating to the Oslo accords, the interim peace agreements signed between the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Israel in the 1990s.
She said the UK appeared to be “prioritising diplomatic relationships over accountability for international crimes” and that its attempt to challenge the ICC’s jurisdiction also failed “to address Israel’s noncompliance with the Oslo accords, particularly concerning settlement expansions in the West Bank”.
Responding to the decision, Clive Baldwin, a senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch, said: “The UK should not be leading the charge for double standards in victims’ access to justice.
The original article contains 564 words, the summary contains 226 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!