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International Justice Update - January 2025
This Update on International Justice is prepared by the International Law and Human Rights Program and provided for informational purposes only. Any opinions expressed in articles contained in this Update are not necessarily endorsed by PGA or any individual/s associated with PGA; nor does PGA or any individual/s associated with PGA vouch for the accuracy of the contents of these articles.
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United States
On January 28, 2025, Democrats in the US Senate blocked a bill to sanction the International Criminal Court. The bill received 54 votes in favor and 45 votes against, falling short of the 60 votes required for a final vote.
On January 19, 2025, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu extended an invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend a meeting in Bucharest between the governments of Romania and Israel, despite an ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
Italian police arrested Libyan warlord Ossama Anjiem, head of the Tripoli branch of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution, on a warrant from the International Criminal Court. However, on January 21, 2025, an Italian tribunal refused to approve the arrest and sent him back to Libya. PGA joined international human rights organizations in calling on Italy to urgently explain why it violated Article 89 of the Rome Statute.
Prosecutors in Rome are investigating Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in connection with Osama Najim, a militiaman under an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, who was allowed to return to Libya after being arrested in Turin and subsequently released.
In an interview with Reuters on January 16, 2025, a day after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor defended the ICC's arrest warrants for Netanyahu, stating that Israel had failed to probe war crimes allegations.
On January 27, 2025, the ICC Prosecutor urged the UN Security Council to address the escalating atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region. He also announced that his Office is in the process of preparing applications for new arrest warrants related to alleged crimes committed in West Darfur.
On January 20, 2025, US President Donald Trump revoked an executive order by Biden's administration that ended 2020 sanctions against the International Criminal Court.
On January 10, 2025, three UN experts urged the United States Senate to oppose a bill seeking to impose sanctions on the ICC and cut funding to the UN-backed tribunal.
Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Malaysia
On January 31, 2025, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, and Malaysia will establish a coalition known as The Hague Group, aimed at defending the institutions and rulings of the international legal order. This initiative follows the unprecedented challenges currently faced by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
On January 18, 2025, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Osama Elmasry Njeem, who is suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape, and sexual violence, allegedly committed in Libya from February 2015 onwards.
On January 23, 2025, the ICC Prosecutor announced that his Office has filed two arrest warrants for the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and the Chief Justice of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds.
On January 9, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act" by a vote of 243 to 150. This bill would impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court in response to the court's arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
On January 9, 2025, the Polish government adopted a resolution vowing to ensure the safe participation of Israel's highest representatives, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who chose to attend commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau later this month. The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and others in November 2024 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In response to the news that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal that will take effect on January 19, 2025, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International's Secretary General, stated on January 15, 2025: “The news that a ceasefire deal has been reached will bring some glimmer of relief to Palestinian victims of Israel’s genocide. But it is bitterly overdue.”
In an open letter on January 6, 2025, FIDH and 75 human rights organizations urged the US Congress and incoming administration to oppose attacks on the ICC following the passage of the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act."
On January 10, 2025, three UN experts urged the United States Senate to oppose a bill seeking to impose sanctions on the ICC and cut funding to the UN-backed tribunal.
On January 14, 2025, Judge Nawaf Salam, president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), resigned from his position. Salam's resignation coincides with reports of his nomination as Lebanon's new prime minister.
On January 7, 2025, Ireland joined South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, along with Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico, Libya, Bolivia, Turkey, the Maldives, Chile, Spain, and Palestine. South Africa first filed the case in December 2023, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
