ICC Appeals Chamber Rejects Appeal in Abd-Al-Rahman Case [1]
On November 1, 2021, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court rejected Mr. Ali Abd-Al-Rahman’s appeal against the Pre-Trial Chamber II decision on jurisdiction of May 17, 2021. The Abd-Al-Rahman concerns the trial of Mr. Abd-Al-Rahman for “31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed between August 2003 and at least April 2004 in Darfur, Sudan.” The Appeals Chamber’s decision [3] addressed four grounds of appeal. According to an ICC press release [4], the Appeals Chamber rejected the defense’s grounds of appeal by stating that there was “no error in the reasons given by the Pre-Trial Chamber defining a ‘situation’ before the Court,” and that “the non-funding by the United Nations of the activities of the Court arising from a referral by the Security Council does not invalidate the UNSC resolution 1593.” In reference to the principle of legality, the Appeals Chamber found that the referral of the Situation in Darfur, Sudan took place in the wake of serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law that were criminalised under international law at the time.”