Tuesday 13 April 2010

Decision Pursuant to Art. 15 of the ICC Statute on the Authorization of an Investigation into the Situation in the Republic of Kenya (31 March 2010)

Click here for document (approximately 163 pages)

The Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court recently granted the Prosecutor’s request to commence an investigation of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Kenya.

The majority concluded that the evidence presented by the Prosecution, along with the lower standard of proof applicable at this particular stage, provided reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity were committed in Kenya. This decision clears the way for the Prosecution to investigate crimes against humanity committed between 1 June 2005 (date on which Kenya became a state party to the Rome Statute) and 26 November 2009 (date on which the Prosecutor filed the request to investigate).

Judge Hans-Peter Kaul strongly dissented. He believed that the crimes committed in Kenya in relation to the post-election violence of 2007–2008 did not qualify as crimes against humanity under the Court’s statute. As such, he noted, the Court lacked jurisdiction.

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