Malta, along with 38 other countries, has referred Russia’s war against Ukraine to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation.

The ICC is commonly referred to as ‘The Hague’.

Malta is a state party to the ICC’s statute. According to the statute, a “State Party may refer to the Prosecutor a situation in which one or more crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court appear to have been committed requesting the Prosecutor to investigate the situation for the purpose of determining whether one or more specific persons should be charged with the commission of such crimes”.

Such referrals allow the ICC to expedite its investigations.

In a statement ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC said:

“my Office had already found a reasonable basis to believe crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court had been committed, and had identified potential cases that would be admissible”

The ICC adds that “if anyone has information relevant to the Situation, this can be submitted to the Office of the Prosecutor via: otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int.”

Featured image: ICC