International Criminal Court (ICC)

The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on March 5 unanimously approved an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan committed by the United States military, Afghan authorities and the Taliban. The prosecutor is authorized to investigate crimes alleged to have been committed in Afghanistan since May 1, 2003, as well as other alleged crimes linked to the Afghan conflict committed on the territory of other states party to the Rome Statute since July 1, 2002.

The Office of the Attorney General for the state of Israel released a detailed memorandum to explain why the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction over Palestine. The memo argues that Palestine has failed to meet the necessary precondition of possessing criminal jurisdiction over its territory since a sovereign Palestinian state does not exist at this time. The memo is available here and below.

On Friday, a panel of three International Criminal Court judges rejected the request of the court's Prosecutor to investigate "the situation" in Afghanistan, including alleged war crimes committed by the U.S. military and CIA.

Editor's note: This piece originally appeared in Markaz.

The chemical weapons attack in the Syrian town of Khan Shaykhun earlier this month has led to renewed calls for members of the Assad regime to face justice. Boris Johnson and Jean-Marc Ayrault recently wrote in The Guardian, for example, “there will be no impunity.”