Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan

Abstract

The subject of this paper is the territorial and personal aspects of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court regarding crimes committed on the territory or in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of Afghanistan. In 2020, the International Criminal Court determined that the conditions had been met for initiating an investigation into crimes committed in Afghanistan, or in connection with the armed conflict in Afghanistan. The paper is based on the analysis of positive regulations in the field of public international law and international criminal law, as well as linking the relevant provisions with the circumstances under which crimes were committed on the territory of Afghanistan and drawing conclusions about the fulfillment of necessary conditions for initiating criminal proceedings before the International Criminal Court. The result of the analysis leads to the conclusion that the conditions have been met for initiating an investigation into crimes committed in Afghanistan or in connection with the armed conflict on the territory of Afghanistan. The initiation of an investigation is particularly important in the context of the withdrawal of US military forces and the Taliban's takeover of power in Afghanistan. Namely, there is a real possibility that the newly formed government in Afghanistan will not be willing to cooperate with the prosecution and provide the necessary evidence related to the crimes in question, which directly affects the importance of conducting proceedings before the International Criminal Court.