Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins on Thursday (2) a four-day visit to Hungary, challenging an arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes allegations in Gaza.
Israel rejected the accusations, claiming that they are politically motivated and driven by anti -Semitism.
How does it work?
The Rome Statute, which underlies the ICC, obliges all 124 Signatory States of the Court to arrest and deliver any individual subject to an arrest warrant of the Court if he
However, the application of this rule is difficult and depends on the cooperation of the Member States, says Gerry Simpson, professor of international law at the London School of Economics.
“There is a legal issue and a political issue here. The political issue revolves around the relationship between diplomacy and law,” said Simpson.
Not automatically restricts an individual’s freedom of travel. However, once the warrant is issued, the person risks being trapped if traveling to a signatory state of the ICC, which can influence their decisions.
What happens when states do not fulfill?
The sanction for not arresting someone is a referral of the case back to the Member States Assembly of the ICC and ultimately a referral to the UN Security Council.
There were several occasions when signatory states did not
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, indicted in 2009 for genocide in Darfur, remained in office for another decade until he was deposed in a coup.
While in power, he traveled to several Arab and African countries, including TPI Member States such as Chad, Djibuti, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Uganda, who refused to stop him.
The court rebuked these countries or referred them to the UN Security Council for non -compliance. Since then, Al-Bashir has been sued in Sudan for other crimes, but has never been delivered to the ICC.
What countries are SIGNATORIES of the ICC?
Russia signed the Rome statute in 2000, but withdrew its support in 2016 after the ICC classified the annexation of the Crimea Peninsula by Russia as an armed conflict.
The United States, China, Israel and Iran are among countries that are not signatory to ICC and are therefore not required to stop or deliver accused individuals.
Other persons indicted or with arrest warrants
Kenya President William Ruto and his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, were accused by the ICC before being elected. The accusations against them were later withdrawn. Kenyatta is the only leader who attended the TPI while still in office.
One of the most prominent fugitives is Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused of war crime for illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.
The in March 2023. Kremlin considered the measure insignificant. Moscow repeatedly denied the accusations that his forces committed atrocities during the invasion of Ukraine.
The office of the promoter of the International Criminal Court also issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defense minister, as well as three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes and humanity crimes.
Both Israeli and Hamas leaders rejected the accusations and criticized the decision of the prosecutor, Karim Khan.
