[News Terms] International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Sinwar

ICC "Legal Procedures the World Expects"
Member States Arrest and Transfer to The Hague Headquarters
Outcome in International Community Predictable by Logic of Power

Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has requested arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Yahya Sinwar, the top leader of the Palestinian armed faction Hamas.

On the 20th (local time), Prosecutor Khan issued a statement on the ICC website, announcing that he had requested arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of Israel, and the Hamas leadership including Sinwar.

Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (center), has requested arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
[Photo by UPI/ Yonhap News]

In an interview with CNN on the same day, Prosecutor Khan explained the justification for the arrest warrants, saying, "This is not a witch hunt or an emotional response," and added, "As an international prosecutor and an independent court, this is the legal procedure the world expects from us."

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established as the world's first permanent international tribunal to criminally prosecute individuals who commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, such as crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression that threaten the international community.

Since the official languages of the ICC are English and French, it is referred to as CPI (Cour p?nale internationale) in French, with the formal abbreviation ICC-CPI, but it is commonly shortened to ICC.

It can be confused with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a judicial organ of the United Nations, but they are distinctly separate independent institutions. The ICC was established and inaugurated on July 1, 2002, in The Hague, Netherlands. The driving force behind the ICC is the "Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court," adopted on July 17, 1998, in Rome, Italy.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel.
Photo by AP/ Yonhap News

All member states are obligated to cooperate according to this statute. The ICC exercises jurisdiction when a state party where the crime occurred or the nationality of the accused is a party files a case, when the United Nations Security Council refers a case, or when the Prosecutor initiates an investigation.

Over 100 countries, including South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Australia, have ratified the ICC treaty as member states, while about 40 countries have signed but not ratified the treaty through their parliaments. Notably, powerful countries such as the United States, China, and Russia, as well as most Arab countries, have neither joined nor ratified the agreement, raising questions about the actual enforcement of arrest warrants and judicial authority.

The ICC is divided into the Office of the Prosecutor, which investigates and prosecutes crimes; the Chambers, which determine the guilt or innocence of the accused; and the Registry. The Chambers consist of the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division, and Appeals Division. Trials proceed as second-instance trials and are conducted by 18 judges serving nine-year terms.

Regarding the ICC's request for arrest warrants, both the Israeli government and the allied U.S. Biden administration have expressed strong opposition, calling it absurd. The U.S. House Republicans are even considering a vote on sanctions legislation against the ICC leadership.

Yahya Sinwar, the top leader of the Palestinian armed faction Hamas.
[Photo by AP/ Yonhap News]

However, Prosecutor Khan emphasized that this request for arrest warrants is "to build solid evidence that will not be diluted in court." He cited the charges against Netanyahu and others, including "refusing humanitarian aid and deliberately targeting civilians in conflict situations, causing famine and extermination due to war."

In response to Netanyahu and others' objections, Prosecutor Khan stated, "No one is above the law," and added, "(Israel) can raise objections before the court."

If the ICC Chambers accept Prosecutor Khan's request for arrest warrants, the ICC, which lacks its own police force, will request member states to execute the warrants, and member states obligated to cooperate with the ICC must carry out the arrests. According to the Rome Statute, member states are required to arrest these individuals within their jurisdiction and transfer them to the ICC headquarters in The Hague. Failure to fulfill this obligation may result in referral to the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the ICC's supervisory body.

Will Israel, which is not a member state, arrest its own prime minister and transfer him to the ICC headquarters? Both the ICC that requested the arrest warrants and all members of the international community, which operates under the logic of power, anticipate the outcome.