One
of the qualification is the interest of justice ICC chief prosecutor Fatou
Bensouda has previously said that the upgrade means Palestine now qualifies to
join the Rome Statute based in The Hague, the ICC can prosecute individuals
accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed since 1
July 2002, when the Rome Statute came into force.
Another
qualification is Palestine can stand as a state in order to determine whether
“Palestine” is indeed entitled to agree to the court, Bensouda will likely
launch a process of consultations, over the course of which she might seek to
deliberate the question with other countries and international bodies.
Some
experts are convinced that the ICC will immediately accept the Palestinians’
application, since it has already hinted that it would consider Palestine a
state if the United Nations General Assembly recognized it. On November 29,
2012, the GA overwhelmingly voted in favor of granting the “State of Palestine”
nonmember state status. This suggests that the ICC will also treat the PA
similarly.
Once
it is established that Palestine is indeed a member of the court, and once it
files complaints against Israelis, the prosecutor can decide whether to launch
a preliminary examination into the accusations. She is by no means obligated to
do that, and might decide not to touch the issue at all.
..........Done by Faith Gabriella.
