Venezuela: The ICC authorizes the resumption of the investigation into crimes against humanity

The Preliminary Questions Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision on Tuesday that authorizes the Prosecutor of this court to resume its investigation for crimes against humanity in Venezuela. The Prosecutor’s Office filed a request before that Chamber last November requesting authorization to resume the investigation.

Before issuing its ruling, the Chamber examined the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, the observations of the competent Venezuelan authorities, as well as 1875 forms of observations and concerns transmitted through the Section for Reparation and Participation of Victims.

“The Chamber concluded that, although Venezuela took some investigative measures, its internal criminal procedures do not sufficiently reflect the scope of the investigation planned by the Prosecutor’s Office,” reads the statement of the Court.

The factors that prompted the Chamber to make this determination were that apparently Venezuela “is not investigating the factual allegations underlying the contextual elements of crimes against humanity”, and that the focus of investigations at the national level “seems to be generally on the direct and/or low-level perpetrators”.

The Chamber also observed that these investigations apparently do not sufficiently address the crimes that the Prosecutor’s Office intends to investigate, particularly the alleged crime of persecution and the insufficient investigation of crimes of a sexual nature.

The decision is not unalterable

This decision does not prevent Venezuela from contributing additional material for the Prosecutor’s Office or the Chamber to determine the future inadmissibility of the investigation based on the principle of complementarity, which entails the competence and primary authority of the States to investigate international crimes.

In addition, it indicates that when the Prosecutor’s Office presents a specific case, a new evaluation of the admissibility of the investigation may be carried out.

“The Chamber highlighted that the evaluation of the state of internal procedures it is an ongoing process and requires a permanent dialogue between the relevant State and the Court, to guarantee that the principle of complementarity is respected with respect to the investigations and prosecutions authorized by the Court,” the statement qualifies.

The members of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court are judges Péter Kovács (president), Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera.

Background of the case

• Venezuela ratified the Rome Statute on June 7, 2000.
• On September 27, 2018, the Prosecutor’s Office received a request for intervention from a group of States Parties to the Rome Statute – Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, in relation to the situation in Venezuela since February 12, 2014. coinciding with a series of anti-government protests.
• On November 3, 2021, the Prosecutor’s Office announced the conclusion of the preliminary examination and the decision to continue with the investigations.
• The announcement was accompanied by a Memorandum of Understanding between Venezuela and the Prosecutor’s Office seeking means and mechanisms to support and promote a true national process, while committing to establish mechanisms to improve cooperation between the parties.
• On April 21, 2022, the Prosecutor’s Office notified the Preliminary Questions Chamber of the receipt of a request from Venezuela to postpone its investigations in favor of the actions carried out by the national authorities of Venezuela, in accordance with article 18(2 ) of the Rome Statute.
• On November 1, 2022, the Prosecutor’s Office filed an application with the Pre-Trial Chamber requesting that it be authorized to resume the investigation in this Situation.