International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan. ICC to conduct preliminary examination in connection with Lithuania’s charges against the Belarusian authorities International Law
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan confirmed on Tuesday that his office will conduct a preliminary examination in connection with an official request from Lithuania, accusing the Belarusian authorities of repression against their own citizens.
The statement, the text of which was published on Monday on the website of the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice, said that Alexander Lukashenko and other representatives of the country’s military-political leadership “have launched a campaign against the civilian population of Belarus, including arbitrary detentions and prosecutions, murders, sexual violence, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment.”
Belarus is not a party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, but the Lithuanian authorities pointed out that certain elements of these violations were committed by the “Belarusian regime” on the territory of Lithuania, as a result of which such crimes fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC.
“Under the Rome Statute,” Karim Khan said on Tuesday, “a State Party may bring a complaint to my Office about a situation in which one or more crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court have been committed. A State may request an investigation into a situation to determine whether charges should be brought against specific individuals.”
In his statement, Karim Khan stressed that a request from a State Party to the Rome Statute does not automatically lead to an investigation.
“My Office will conduct a preliminary examination to consider the request within the jurisdiction of the ICC to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation,” the ICC Prosecutor said.
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent judicial body. It was established by the Rome Statute, signed in the Italian capital on 17 July 1998. Its jurisdiction extends to all the most serious international crimes committed after 1 July 2002, the date the Rome Statute entered into force. The Court’s jurisdiction is limited to the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.
In its first twenty years of operation, the ICC has heard a number of cases of great importance to international justice, concerning such serious crimes as the use of child soldiers, the destruction of cultural heritage, sexual violence and attacks on innocent civilians.