Mr. President of the Republic, Élysée Palace, 55 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 PARIS, November 28, 2024, in Paris, Mr. President of the Republic, Our association, Jurists for Respect for International Law (JURDI), has taken note of the official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated November 27, 2024, according to which the "« immunities of States not party to the ICC (…) apply to the Prime Minister Netanyahu and other relevant ministers will have to be taken into consideration if the ICC should have asked us for their arrest and surrender ».
Our association is deeply surprised by this statement, which contradicts France's international commitments, and in particular the Rome Statute, ratified by France and all member states of the European Union. Furthermore, this statement contradicts the positions traditionally held by France and other European states regarding the necessary implementation of ICC decisions, including all arrest warrants issued by the Court.
The ICC has repeatedly ruled, with regard to individuals subject to arrest warrants issued by the Court and transmitted to States Parties, that the immunity of heads of state of non-ICC States recognized under customary international law is not applicable to the ICC and its member states. It reiterated this position on October 24, 2024, on the occasion of Vladimir Putin's visit to Mongolia in September 2024, recalling that Mongolia, a State Party, had failed to fulfill its international obligations under the Rome Statute and, more specifically, its obligation to cooperate with the ICC.
Our association, Jurists for Respect for International Law (JURDI), therefore asks you, and in accordance with the commitments of France and the member states of the European Union, to amend this declaration and to recall that France will comply with all decisions of the ICC, including that of November 21, 2024 relating to the arrest warrants issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
The President of JURDI,
Patrick ZAHND
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