Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 November 2023
47. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if Ireland has ever made a referral to the International Criminal Court to independently investigate allegations of war crimes or other such alleged acts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49355/23]
View answerIreland strongly supports the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the first permanent international court with the power to prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.
The Court has jurisdiction over these crimes where they are alleged to have been committed on the territory of a State Party to the Statute of the Court, or by a national of a State Party to the Statute.
The Court also has jurisdiction where the alleged crime or crimes have been committed on the territory of a state which is not a party to the Statute, or by a national of that state, but where that state has made a declaration under Article 12 of the Statute in which it accepts the Court’s jurisdiction.
The Statute allows the ICC Prosecutor to initiate an investigation into alleged crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court where those crimes have been referred to him or her by any State Party to the Statute or by the United Nations Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
The Prosecutor may also initiate an investigation on his or her own initiative but, under the Statute, to do so requires the authorisation of the Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber. This can be a lengthy process but can be circumvented if a State Party refers the alleged crimes to the Prosecutor instead.
To date Ireland has made one referral to the Prosecutor of the ICC. On that occasion Ireland was one of 43 States Parties to the Statute that referred the situation in Ukraine to the Prosecutor, shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia began in February 2022.
Ukraine is not a State Party to the Statute, but did make a declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the Court in 2014. As the prior authorisation of the Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber had not issued by the time of the full-scale invasion the States Parties’ referral enabled the Prosecutor to immediately begin an investigation into alleged crimes being committed in Ukraine, without the authorisation of the Court. This investigation is now fully underway. The Prosecutor has opened a field office in Ukraine and the Court has issued the first arrest warrants in the investigation.
