Barnidge: Palestinian Engagement with the International Criminal Court: From Preliminary Examination to Investigation?

Robert P. Barnidge, Jr. (Webster Univ. - History, Politics, and International Relations) has published Palestinian Engagement with the International Criminal Court: From Preliminary Examination to Investigation? (Journal of the Middle East and Africa, Vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 109-23, 2016). Here's the abstract:

This article examines a number of key legal issues related to recent Palestinian moves at the International Criminal Court (ICC). It begins by describing the technicalities of these moves in light of article 12(3) of the 1998 Rome Statute of the ICC and the ICC’s accession regime. It then turns to some of the considerations that ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda will have to bear in mind when she decides whether to escalate her preliminary examination to an investigation. These are the questions of jurisdiction, admissibility, and the “interests of justice.” While it is difficult to predict whether Bensouda will initiate an investigation, it is likely that Palestinian engagement with the ICC will continue to pose a significant obstacle to rapprochement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The Palestinian moves have fundamentally challenged the bilateral negotiation imperative that emerged between Israel and the PLO in September 1993.