{"id":745,"date":"2013-06-26T02:53:06","date_gmt":"2013-06-26T02:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hawaiiankingdom.org\/blog\/?p=745"},"modified":"2013-06-26T02:53:06","modified_gmt":"2013-06-26T02:53:06","slug":"international-criminal-court-acknowledges-receipt-of-the-hawaiian-kingdoms-request-for-investigation-into-war-crimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiiankingdom.org\/blog\/international-criminal-court-acknowledges-receipt-of-the-hawaiian-kingdoms-request-for-investigation-into-war-crimes\/","title":{"rendered":"International Criminal Court Acknowledges Receipt of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s Request for Investigation into War Crimes"},"content":{"rendered":"

On June 17, 2013, the International Criminal Court (ICC) received the Hawaiian Kingdom\u2019s Referral<\/a> to initiate criminal investigations and its Declaration<\/a> extending the jurisdiction of the ICC to investigate war crimes committed on Hawaiian territory since July 1, 2002.\u00a0 Initially the ICC’s jurisdiction was limited to crimes committed after March 4, 2013 when it began its jurisdiction over the Hawaiian Islands. On June 24, 2013, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) acknowledged receipt of the communication and stated they \u201cwill give consideration to this communication, as appropriate, in accordance with the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OTP_Ackn_p_1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"OTP_Ackn_p_2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The ICC can initiate an investigation from three sources or a combination of the three: first, from the United Nations Security Council; second, from the government of the State that granted jurisdiction to the ICC; and, third, from private parties who were victims of war crimes committed on the territory that the ICC has jurisdiction.\u00a0According to the ICC Prosecutor’s\u00a0Policies<\/a>, \u201cin response to referrals or communications, the Prosecutor will gather and assess relevant information until such point as he is satisfied that there is, or is not, a reasonable basis <\/i>to proceed. The Prosecutor makes the determination as to whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed based on the three factors required by the Statute:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. the factual\/legal basis<\/i><\/strong>: the information available provides a reasonable basis to believe that a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court has been or is being committed;<\/li>\n
  2. the admissibility test<\/i><\/strong>: the case is or would be admissible (including on complementarity grounds) under Article 17;<\/li>\n
  3. the interests of justice<\/strong>: <\/i>taking into account the gravity of the crime and the interests of victims, there are nonetheless substantial reasons to believe that an investigation would not serve the interests of justice.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Because the Hawaiian Kingdom is occupied and not a part of the territory of the United States, U.S. government officials who have committed war crimes within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom are not immune from prosecution by the ICC. According to the Rome Statute,\u00a0Article 27\u2014Irrelevance of official capacity:<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. This Statute shall apply equally to all persons without any distinction based on official capacity. In particular, official capacity as a Head of State or Government, a member of a Government or parliament, an elected representative or a government official shall in no case exempt a person from criminal responsibility under this Statute, nor shall it, in and of itself, constitute a ground for reduction of sentence.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. Immunities or special procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether under national or international law, shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      In its Referral<\/a>, the Hawaiian Kingdom provided evidence of the following war crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute that have and continue to be committed on Hawaiian territory since July 1, 2002.<\/p>\n