ICC-01/15-4 13-10-2015 1/160 EO PT Original: English No.: ICC-01/15 Date: 13 October 2015 PRE-TRIAL CHAMBER I Before: Judge Joyce Aluoch, Presiding Judge Judge Cuno Tarfusser Judge Péter Kovács SITUATION IN GEORGIA Public Document with Confidential, EX PARTE, Annexes A,B, C, D.2, E.3, E.7, E.9, F H and Public Annexes 1, D.1, E.1, E.2, E.4, E.5, E.6, E.8,G ,I, J Request for authorisation of an investigation pursuant to article 15 Source: Office of the Prosecutor ICC-01/15 1/160 13 October 2015 ICC-01/15-4 13-10-2015 2/160 EO PT Document to be notified in accordance with regulation 31 of the Regulations of the Court to: The Office of the Prosecutor Counsel for the Defence Mrs Fatou Bensouda Mr James Stewart Legal Representatives of the Victims Legal Representatives of the Applicants Unrepresented Victims Unrepresented Applicants The Office of Public Counsel for The Office of Public Counsel for the Victims Defence States’ Representatives Amicus Curiae REGISTRY Registrar Defence Support Section Mr Herman von Hebel Victims and Witnesses Unit Detention Section No. ICC-01/15 2/160 13 October 2015 ICC-01/15-4 13-10-2015 3/160 EO PT Table of Contents with Confidential, EX PARTE, Annexes C, D,E.3, E.7,E.9 H and Public Annexes, A, B,D, E.1, E.2, E.4, E.5, E.6, E.8, F,G,I,J................................................................................................1 Request for authorisation of an investigation pursuant to article 15 ....................................1 I. Introduction.........................................................................................................................5 II. Procedural history ..................................................................................................... 13 III. Background................................................................................................................ 13 A. Historical context of the 2008 armed conflict................................................................. 13 B. Activities of the Office of the Prosecutor ....................................................................... 25 IV. Examination of the information available ................................................................ 28 V. Jurisdiction ................................................................................................................ 32 A. Alleged crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court........................................................ 32 1. Places of alleged commission of the crimes..................................................................... 33 2. Time period of alleged commission of the crimes ............................................................ 34 3. Persons or groups involved........................................................................................... 36 B. Legal characterisation and reasons that the listed crimes fall within the jurisdiction of the Court .................................................................................................................................... 38 1. War Crimes ................................................................................................................. 38 (a) Contextual elements of war crimes ................................................................. 41 i. The period prior to Russia’s direct intervention .............................................. 45 ii. The period subsequent to the cessation of hostilities ........................................ 57 (b) Alleged war crimes committed against ethnic Georgians ................................. 64 i. Wilful killing pursuant to article 8(2)(a)(i) or murder pursuant to article 8(2)(c)(i) ....................................................................................................... 65 ii. Destruction of property pursuant to article 8(2)(b)(xiii) or article 8(2)(e)(xii) and pillage pursuant to article 8(2)(b)(xvi) or article 8(2)(e)(v) ...................... 66 iii. Alleged involvement of Russian armed forces in the commission of crimes attributed to South Ossetian forces ................................................................ 70 (c) Alleged attack against peacekeepers ................................................................ 72 i. Status of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces .......................................................... 73 ii. Alleged attack against Georgian peacekeepers ................................................. 82 iii. Alleged attack against Russian peacekeepers................................................... 85 (d) Alleged Indiscriminate and Disproportionate Attacks ..................................... 95 i. Alleged Indiscriminate and Disproportionate Attacks by Georgian armed forces ..................................................................................................................... 95 ii. Alleged Indiscriminate and Disproportionate Attacks by Russian armed forces 98 (e) Nexus between the individual acts and the armed conflict ............................. 103 2. Crimes against humanity ........................................................................................... 106 No. ICC-01/15 3/160 13 October 2015 ICC-01/15-4 13-10-2015 4/160 EO PT (a) Contextual elements of crimes against humanity .......................................... 106 (b) Acts allegedly committed by South Ossetian forces ....................................... 107 i. Attack directed against any civilian population ............................................ 107 ii. Widespread or systematic nature of the attack .............................................. 118 iii. Nexus between individual acts and the attack ............................................... 122 (c) Alleged crimes against humanity ................................................................. 124 i. Murder ....................................................................................................... 124 ii. Deportation or forcible transfer of population ............................................... 125 iii. Persecution ................................................................................................. 129 VI. Admissibility ........................................................................................................... 131 A. Complementarity ....................................................................................................... 132 1. National proceedings in Georgia ................................................................................. 133 2. National proceedings in the Russian Federation .......................................................... 143 (a) National proceedings in relation to the alleged forcible displacement campaign.............. ................................................................................................................... 143 (b) National proceedings in relation to the alleged attack against Russian peacekeepers. 146 3. National proceedings in third States ............................................................................... 150 4. Conclusion on complementarity ...................................................................................... 150 B. Gravity...................................................................................................................... 152 VII. Interests of justice.................................................................................................... 155 VIII. Procedural issues..................................................................................................... 158 IX. Relief requested ....................................................................................................... 160 No. ICC-01/15 4/160 13 October 2015 ICC-01/15-4 13-10-2015 5/160 EO PT I. Introduction 1. The Prosecutor hereby requests authorisation from the Pre-Trial Chamber I, pursuant to article 15(3) of the Rome Statute, to proceed with an investigation into the Situation in Georgia covering the period from 1 July 2008 to 10 October 2008, for war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in and around South Ossetia. 2. The Prosecution has been conducting a preliminary examination into the Situation in Georgia since August 2008, in the course of which it has gathered information on alleged crimes attributed to the three parties involved in the armed conflict — the Georgian armed forces, the South Ossetian forces, and the Russian armed forces. As a result of its examination based on the information available, the Prosecution has identified the following war crimes and crimes against humanity which it reasonably believes fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC, or the Court), thus triggering its request to the Pre-Trial Chamber I to authorise its investigation: Killings, forcible displacements and persecution of ethnic Georgian civilians, and destruction and pillaging of their property, by South Ossetian forces (with possible participation by Russian forces); and Intentionally directing attacks against Georgian peacekeepers by South Ossetian forces; and against Russian peacekeepers by Georgian forces. No. ICC-01/15 5/160 13 October 2015 ICC-01/15-4 13-10-2015 6/160 EO PT 3. Information on other crimes allegedly committed by persons associated with the parties to the conflict is also set out in this Application, including on indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against civilian targets by both Georgian and Russian armed forces. Given the inherent difficulties