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Cairo, on
January 15th 2009
The Arab
Center for Independence of the Judiciary and the legal
profession (ACIJLP), as the coordinator of the Arab Coalition
for the International Criminal Court, forward a request to Mr.
Louis Ocampo, Prosecutor of the permanent International Criminal
Court; in order to start the investigation on his own, on the
crimes that the Palestinian civilians are facing in the Gaza
Strip since 12-27-2008
The request
submitted to the Prosecutor included directing the
responsibility for the commission of war crimes and crimes
against humanity to:
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Ehud
Olmert, Prime Minister of Israeli actions
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Ehud
Barak the Israeli Defense Minister
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Matan
Vilnai, Deputy Minister of Defense of Israel
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Avi
Dichter, Israel's internal security minister
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Gabi
Ashkenazi, Israeli army chief of staff
As they are
main officials of their subordinates in the Israeli air, ground
and the navy. forces
The Center
based in its request to the Prosecutor on the texts and the
relevant provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal
Court in particular Article (15), which states that:
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The Prosecutor may
initiate investigations proprio motu on the basis of
information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the court.
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The Prosecutor shall
analyze the seriousness of the information received. For
this purpose, he or she may seek additional information from
States, organs of the United Nations, intergovernmental or
non-governmental organizations, or other reliable sources
that he or she deems appropriate, and may receive written or
oral testimony at the seat of the court.
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If the Prosecutor
concludes that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with
an investigation, he or she shall submit to the Pre-Trial
Chamber a request for authorization of an investigation,
together with any supporting material collected with the
Rules of Procedure and Evidence.
On the
jurisdiction of the court in consideration of these crimes, the
center based on the text of Article (5) of the Statute of the
Court, which provides that:
The jurisdiction of the
Court shall be limited to the most serious crimes of concern to
the international community as a whole. The Court has
jurisdiction in accordance with this Statute with respect to the
following crimes: (a) The crime of genocide; (b) Crimes against
humanity; (c) War crimes; (d) The crimes of aggression.
The request
included a summary of the facts d, which started from December
27, 2008 or the "Pouring bullets" mission as called by the
Israeli army. It included also on a list of crimes like: war
crimes and crimes against humanity, in addition to the texts
that condemn the criminal acts in the Statute of the Court, and
the number of civilian casualties.
Worth
mentioning, that the request included a CD that contains many of
photos and video clips that show of war crimes and crimes
against humanity perpetrated by the Israeli army in
contravention of all international laws and norms relevant, in
particular the Geneva Conventions to armed conflict, the Statute
of the International Criminal Court.
The request
also included testimony and statements issued by:
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International Human Rights Council.
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The
Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in Gaza (UNRWA)
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The
International Red Cross
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Human
Rights Watch
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Field
reports of related Palestinian centers.
The Center pointed out in
his request that the crimes have been committed in the context
of an organized and widespread systematic attack against the
civilian population, and the perpetrators are aware that these
crimes are punishable acts under international humanitarian law
and under the Statute of the International Criminal Court
The Center
indicated that the jurisdiction is of the International Criminal
Court, and the Prosecutor should begin the proceedings to
investigate, despite the absence of Israel's ratification of the
Statute of the Court, on the basis of the articles: (3-13) and
(15) and (17 ) of the Statute of the Court.
Request for Investigating a Case
Lies within the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court
(ICC) As Per Article (5) of the Statute |
