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 The Prosecutor v. Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri. El Hishri is alleged to have been a senior official of the armed group Special Deterrence Force. He is charged with 17 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Libya between 1 May 2014 and 30 June 2020.

The decision comes after the defense for El Hishri filed a challenge on April 30 to the jurisdiction of the Court pursuant to article 19 of the Rome Statute. The defense argued that as Libya is not a State Party to the Rome statute that the court does not have jurisdiction to prosecute given that the accused is of Libyan nationality and the alleged crimes were committed solely on Libyan soil.

The Chamber unanimously decided that the Court does have jurisdiction over the case. In February 2011, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the UN, referred the situation in Libya to the Court in accordance with article 13(b) of the Rome Statute. Article 13(b) permits the court to exercise its jurisdiction if the UNSC refers a situation to the ICC prosecutor where there appears to be war crimes or crimes against humanity being committed. The Court decided that this resolution from 2011 grants the Court jurisdiction.

El Hishiri first appeared before the court in December 2025 after being detained by German police last July. The charges concern his role at the Mitiga prison near Tripoli. The court alleges that El Hishiri exercised authority over the whole Mitiga prison and personally engaged in torture, mistreatment, sexual abuse, and killing of detainees.

El Hishiri’s confirmation of charges hearing took place from 19 to 21 May 2026. The purpose of the confirmation of charges procedure is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to prove the crimes that a person is suspected of. If the charges are confirmed, the case will be transferred to a Trial Chamber to conduct the trial. A decision on the confirmation of charges is supposed to arrive within 60 days of the confirmation hearing.