A “Democratic Exception” to ICC Jurisdiction - The Law and Politics of Double Standards

Abstract

On 21 November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and the former Minister of Defence, for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in the ongoing Israel-Gaza War. Equally contentious was the response of leading Western states – including Germany and France – who have questioned or openly rejected treaty obligations to enforce the warrants. This is a conspicuously fraught position for countries who previously welcomed 2023 ICC arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin in legally identical circumstances.

Keywords

• ICC
• Internationaler Strafgerichtshof | Den Haag
• Israel
• Rome Statute
• arrest warrants
• complementarity