The French foreign ministry has suggested that Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would not immediately be arrested if he came to French territory despite an international criminal court (ICC) arrest warrant targeting him.
Despite the Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, saying earlier this week that France would “rigorously” respect its obligations under international law, the foreign ministry on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, said that it would continue to work closely with Netanyahu.
The French government has taken almost a week to come up with a clear position after the court in The Hague issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Netanyahu, his former defence chief Yoav Gallant and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif.
And today, the ministry said the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, states a country cannot be required to act in a manner incompatible with its obligations “with respect to the immunities of States not party to the ICC.”
The ministry argued that Netanyahu and other the Minister affected benefits from immunity because Israel is not a member of the court.
“A state cannot be held to act in a way that is incompatible with its obligations in terms of international law with regards to immunities granted to states which are not party to the ICC.”
French foreign ministry
The ministry said that this would be “taken into consideration if the ICC was to ask us for their arrest and handing over.”
The statement also cited the “historic friendship that links France and Israel”, describing them as “two democracies committed to the rule of law and respect for professional and independent justice.”
France intends to continue to work in close collaboration with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli authorities to achieve peace and security for all in the Middle East.
The French foreign ministry’s statement was condemned by rights groups.
Amnesty International described France’s position as “deeply problematic”, stating, “Rather than inferring that ICC indictees may enjoy immunity, France should expressly confirm its acceptance of the unequivocal legal duty under the Rome Statute to carry out arrest warrants.”
Andrew Stroehlein, European Media Director at Human Rights Watch, said, “Some shocking nonsense from France here. No one gets immunity from an ICC arrest warrant because they’re in office – not Netanyahu, not Putin, no one.”
He pointed to Article 27 of the Rome Statute on the “irrelevance of official capacity.”
France Playing ‘A Double Game’ By Claiming Netanyahu Has ICC Immunity
William Schabas, Professor of international law at Middlesex University, opined that France’s argument that Netanyahu has immunity from ICC prosecution because Israel is not party to the Rome Statute is “flimsy.”
He told a news agency that this contradicts France’s stance on the ICC since it encouraged the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is legally in a similar situation as Netanyahu.
“France is playing a bit of a double game” on this, Schabas said, adding that the argument has already been rejected by the judges of the court.
Schabas said that only time will tell whether Netanyahu is going to show up in court because there is no appeal process for an arrest warrant – something that the Israeli leader said he was seeking.
