The Court performs legal acrobatics to charge Israeli leaders while being derelict in its duty to bring Venezuela’s dictator to justice
Originally published January 28, 2025 | Updated January 2026 By Eli Kenin
Comparing the ICC’s intervention in Israel and Venezuela
The International Criminal Court’s logo displays a scale nestled between two olive branches symbolizing the balance between justice and peace. Each year, on July 17, the ICC celebrates the signing of The Rome Statue in 1998, the international treaty that established it, with themes such “building a more just world” and “a world without impunity.” Yet, twenty-two years after the court began to function in 2002, Karim Khan, the current chief prosecutor, issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s democratically elected Prime Minster Benyamin Netanyahu while failing to apply the rule of law to Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Meanwhile, Khan, an English barrister of Pakistani descent, is accused of the sexual harassment of an employee,[i] while his sister-in-law represents Maduro before the very court that he heads,[ii] a clear violation of the ICC’s Code of Conduct for the Office of the Prosecutor.[iii]
The International Criminal Court describes itself as “the world’s first permanent international criminal court.” The ICC is an independent judicial body distinct from the United Nations, although the Rome Statute, which is the basis of its creation, was negotiated within the UN.[iv]
The Court’s power to prosecute is limited by provisions in the Rome Statute. These include voluntary adherence to the treaty as a ‘State Party’ and ‘complementarity’, which means that national courts must be incapable of prosecuting an individual before the ICC can step in.
Read the full article here:
