Like many international bodies these days, the International Criminal Court is a corrupted and ineffective body. A number of states, especially the US, have never joined it and apart from Slobodan Milosevic the butcher of Kosovo, I can’t think of any actual major war criminals it has actually brought to justice. One still at large is Russia’s Vladimir Putin and there is Buckley’s chance of anyone arresting him
The recent travesty of the court issuing an arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister and former defence minister, alongside a deceased Hamas terrorist leader (a feeble attempt to give the process a semblance of balance), broke every rule in the book regarding natural justice and adherence to basic legal principles.
The head prosecutor was not only biased but was also under investigation for alleged sexual harassment charges. His team of like-minded, budding antisemites issued the warrants despite all the actual evidence to the contrary. The Israeli government was not asked its side of the story, despite its willingness to do so (a date had been set for that to occur only to be cancelled by the prosecutor) and the alleged transgressions were all inaccurate and, if anything, the opposite of the truth. It had all the hallmarks of proceedings in a Stalinist show trial.
President Biden rightfully condemned it immediately for what it was, and some of the 124 countries that are signatories to the court, notably Hungary and Argentina, declared they would not abide by its ruling.
Regrettably and shamefully, Australia was not one of them. Nor were Canada and the UK. I don’t expect much from the super-woke Justin Trudeau nor the increasingly antisemitic British Labour government (Jeremy Corbin must be very pleased with them) but I do expect the Australian government to have some regard for the rules of evidence and natural justice.
The indictment was just plain wrong. Far from trying to starve out Gaza, the IDF has allowed through many aid convoys. It’s a shame Hamas has siphoned off a large amount of that aid for their own use. Many of the hospitals still operate and Israel has actually set up a significant number of field hospitals in Gaza for Gaza citizens as well. Fair-minded observers, including our own Air Marshal Binskin, who conducted a review into the death of the Australian aid worker killed in an IDF airstrike, have found that the IDF’s rules of engagement when it comes to civilians are at least as stringent as ours, if not more so. What’s more, they are being applied in a dense urban environment more effectively than in any other war to date.
The ICC is not meant to pursue criminals from countries with functioning legal systems. Not only does Israel have a sophisticated, rule-of-law-based judicial system, but it is also already handling several cases involving PM Netanyahu.
I believe Australia should cease funding this farce of a court and withdraw from it. These warrants are a travesty of justice which, if ever attempted to be enforced in an Australian court, would be thrown out, with damages awarded as compensation for false arrest and imprisonment.
