Pre-Investigation Considerations

Abstract

Following the submission of the second Palestinian ad hoc declaration in 2014, the Office of the Prosecutor opened a preliminary examination into the situation in Palestine. During preliminary examinations, the Prosecutor employs a four-tier filtering mechanism to determine whether the examination could proceed into investigation or not. The examination on the situation in Palestine, similar to others, requires a determination on issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and interest of justice. This chapter, therefore, examines these issues in light of, among others, the practice of the Office of the Prosecutor and the Rome Statute. In view of the situation in Palestine, it covers temporal, material, territorial and personal jurisdiction, followed by a discussion of the fundamental concepts of complementarity and gravity to determine the admissibility of potential cases before the International Criminal Court. Similar to other considerations, the chapter concludes that the last pre-investigation consideration, namely ‘interest of justice’, is also satisfied in the context of Palestine.