Gender Report Card on the International Criminal ... - YWCA Canada

Office of the Prosecutor CONTINUED
Situations and Cases
Situations under preliminary examination
As of 20 June 2011, the Office of the Prosecutor is
conducting preliminary examinations in Colombia,
Afghanistan, Georgia, Guinea, Palestine, Nigeria,
Honduras, and the Republic of Korea. During a preliminary
examination, the Office of the Prosecutor determines
whether a situation meets the legal criteria established
by the Statute to warrant investigation by the ICC. 526 The
preliminary examination takes into account jurisdiction,
admissibility and the interests of justice. A preliminary
examination can be initiated by a decision of the
Prosecutor, taking into consideration information received
on crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court under Article
15 527 of the Rome Statute; a referral from a State Party or the
UN Security Council (UNSC); or a declaration by a non-State
Party pursuant to Article 12(3) of the Statute. 528
526 ‘Draft Policy Paper on Preliminary Examinations’, Office of the Prosecutor, 4 October 2010, available
at , last visited on
25 October 2011.
527 Article 15 provides that the Prosecutor may initiate investigations proprio motu (on his own
initiative) on the basis of information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.
528 Article 12(3) provides that a non-State Party may lodge a declaration accepting the Court’s
jurisdiction with respect to the crime in question.
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