SURRENDER REQUESTS AND IMMUNITY OF THE ACCUSED IN INTERNATIONAL CRIME

Зборник радова Раскршћа међународног кривичног права, (291-300 стр.)

 

АУТОР(И) / AUTHOR(S): Vephkhvia Gvaramia

 

Download Full Pdf   

DOI:  10.46793/CrossrICL.291G

САЖЕТАК / ABSTRACT:

The reluctance of States to comply with surrender requests issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), citing immunity as a legal barrier, remains a critical issue under existing international legal norms. This study adopts historical legal and comparative legal methodologies.

Through historical-legal analysis, it became possible to present in stages the circumstances impeding surrender, to make comprehensible the adoption of appropriate norms.

It is appropriate to divide the evolution of norms regulating the surrender of individuals accused of international crimes into three stages, where surrender norms adopted at different times confronted various obstacles:

Stage I – Following World War I: the absence of precise definitions of international crimes, sovereignty, and political interests;

Stage II – Following World War II: general interpretations of international crimes and sovereignty;

Stage III – Contemporary Era: following the establishment of ad hoc and permanent courts: sovereignty, politics, and immunity.

Analysis of the third stage reveals that legal consensus has been achieved on the definition of international crimes developed in accordance with international law principles and practice. However, surrender requests for individuals accused of international crimes remain somewhat incompatible with states’ sovereign interests, which states invoke through immunity to refuse surrender.

The Rome Statute made a significant contribution to developing procedures for the surrender of individuals accused of international crimes who possess immunity. However, this matter is not fully regulated, as existing conventions and state legislation partially contradict surrender in cases of immunity. Notably, even two articles of the Statute are inconsistent: Article 27(2) provides that immunity does not create circumstances impeding surrender, whereas Article 98 makes surrender dependent on states’ international obligations and sovereign interests.

Considering the regulation of immunity by both international and domestic norms, immunity can be divided into two groups: 1. protected by international treaties and 2. protected by domestic legislation. I believe that scholarly discussion on the mentioned issue is significant, as it will bring clarity to the presentation of fragmentarily regulated issues and their comprehensive resolution.

КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ / KEYWORDS:

Request, surrender, immunity, international crime, ad hoc tribunal, Rome Statute

ПРОЈЕКАТ / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

ЛИТЕРАТУРА / REFERENCES:

  • Henry Dunant Memory of Solferino., International Committee of the Red Cross, file:///C:/Users/user/ Downloads/icrc-002-0361.pdf
  • Vepkhvia Gvaramia, Liability problems of Genocide and War Crimes with respect to time, scope and persons, Materials of the International Scientific Conference, Tbilisi, 2021.
  • Kamarovskii L. A. Le tribunal international / Transl. S. de Westman. Paris, 1887.
  • Vepkhvia Gvaramia, Extradition of Accused in International Crime, Tbilisi
  • Руденко Р, Нюрбергский процесс: Том I, М.
  • Руденко Р, Нюрбергский процесс: Том II, М.
  • Материалы судебного процесса над фашистскими убийцами Юханом Юристе, Карлом Линасом и Эрвином Виксом в Тарту 16-20 января 1962, Талин,
  • R. Cryer, H. Friman, D. Robinson and E. Wilmshurst, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, 3rd edn, 2014.
  • Harmen van der Wilt, Immunities and the International Criminal Court, 2019 , 597-599 file:///C:/Users/ user/Desktop/imuniteti/immunities-and-the-international-criminal-court.pdf
  • Carsten Stahn, A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW 2019 Cambridge University Press.
  • Kai Ambos, Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article-by-Article Commentary, Fourth Edition,
  • D. Tladi, ‘The Duty on South Africa to Arrest and Surrender President Al- Bashir under South African and International Law, 2015 13 Journal of International Criminal Justice.
  • P. Gaeta, ‘Does President Al Bashir Enjoy Immunity from Arrest? 2009, 7 Journal of International Criminal Justice.
  • D. Akande, The Legal Nature of Security Council Referrals to the ICC and Its Impact on Al Bashir’s Immunities, 2009, 7 Journal of International Criminal Justice.
  • C. Kreß and K. Prost, ‘Article 98. Cooperation with Respect to Waiver of Immunity and Consent to Surrender’ in 2nd edn , 2008.