ICC confirms jurisdiction in Libyan war crimes case – JURIST

Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) found Tuesday that the Court may exercise jurisdiction in the case of Prosecutor v. Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri. Al Hishri is suspected to have been a senior official of the armed group of the Special Prevention Forces. He is charged with 17 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Libya between May 1, 2014 and June 30, 2020.

The decision comes after the defense for El Hishri filed a challenge on April 30 in the jurisdiction of the Court pursuant to article 19 THE Rome Statute. The defense argued that since Libya is not a state party to the Rome Statute, the court has no jurisdiction to prosecute, as the accused is of Libyan nationality and the alleged crimes were committed only on Libyan soil.

The Chamber unanimously ruled that the Court has jurisdiction over the case. In February 2011, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), acting under Chapter VII THE UN Charterreferred the situation in Libya to the Court in accordance with Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute. Article 13(b) allows the court to exercise its jurisdiction if the KSB refers to the ICC prosecutor a situation where war crimes or crimes against humanity appear to have been committed. The Court ruled that this 2011 decision gives the Court jurisdiction.

Al Hishir the first appeared before the court in December 2025 after it was stopped by the German police last July. The charges relate to his role in Mitiga prison near Tripoli. The court claims that El Hishiri exercised authority over the entire Mitiga prison and personally engaged in torture, ill-treatment, sexual abuse and murder of prisoners.

of Hishir confirmation of the hearing of the charge took place from May 19 to 21, 2026. The purpose of the confirmation of charge procedure is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to prove the crimes of which a person is suspected. If the charges are confirmed, the case will be transferred to the Trial Chamber to proceed with the trial. The decision to confirm the charges is expected to be made within 60 days of the confirmation hearing.