The Government has asserted that it is up to the courts to decide whether Prime Minister Netanyahu has immunity from arrest. This new Policy Exchange paper shows that the Government’s position is an irresponsible surrender of the Government’s duty under the International Criminal Court Act 2001, which gives effect to the UK’s duty under international law – not to violate the state or diplomatic immunities of States that have not signed up to the ICC Statute.

The paper shows that if the Government were to attempt to enforce the International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, it would be acting beyond the scope of the powers conferred on it by the International Criminal Court Act 2001 and would be placing the UK in breach of its obligations in international law to respect state or diplomatic immunity. 

In a foreword to the report, the former Director of Public Prosecutions, Lord Macdonald KC, one of the country’s leading criminal lawyers, describes this argument as “compelling” and raises further serious concerns about the ICC.