Following ICC warrants against Israeli leaders and Hamas, the court has been flooded with briefs that may delay the issuance of the warrants.
Amicus briefs from 70 countries have been sent to the ICC, questioning the jurisdiction and admissibility of the case. The large number of briefs is likely to delay the proceedings by months.
The large number of briefs may cause the court to question the warrant request and increase the likelihood of its rejecting the warrants altogether.
The court accepted an amicus brief by the UK questioning the court’s authority over Israeli nationals, which led to a flood of similar briefs since.
In May, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan filed a request for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders — Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Mohammed Deif, on alleged war crimes.
The move was greeted with criticism, particularly in Israel and the USA, over content of the claims and the implied moral equivalency between Hamas and the Israeli government.
