The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has repealed the appeal by Venezuela over the investigation into the allegations of the Nicolas Maduro-ruled country's alleged crimes against humanity, which includes its repression of its opposition.

In a unanimous decision, the ICC Appeals Chamber rejected Venezuela's appeal and confirmed the "Decision authorizing the resumption of the investigation." The decision to resume the crimes against humanity investigation was made by Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, Presiding, Judge Piotr Hofmański, Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa, and Judge Gocha Lordkipanidze.

The official ICC website noted that Judge Perrin de Brichambaut, who read their summary judgment, indicated that the Appeals Chamber rejected all six grounds of appeal submitted by Venezuela. The judges recalled its recent ruling in the Philippines Judgment that "the burden of providing information relevant to the pre-trial chamber's determination under article 18(2) of the Statute remains on the State seeking deferral."

The Appeals Chamber also decided that the Pre-Trial Chamber's assessment was correct on "whether Venezuela was conducting or had conducted any investigations or prosecutions of the same categories of individuals, that is alleged high-ranking members of the State security forces and pro‑government individuals, in relation to the relevant criminality."

During the hearing, the judges also discussed whether domestic investigations must cover contextual elements of crimes against humanity, including "the existence of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population or a policy."

ICC Investigation Into Venezuela Crimes Against Humanity Paused After Regime Tried to Take Over Investigation

The case was brought by ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan in late 2021 after a lengthy preliminary probe and an official referral, according to the Associated Press. The request to investigate was made by several countries, including Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru.

However, Venezuelan authorities tried to take over the investigation into its own alleged crimes, forcing the full-scale investigation to be placed on hold. It was noted that the ICC is a court of last resort that only takes on cases when national authorities are unwilling or unable to investigate, which means that it had to step in after the Nicolas Maduro regime kept on trying to interfere.

Khan has been pressing to continue the ICC's investigation, the first in Latin America, saying that Venezuela's efforts to deliver justice remain "either insufficient in scope or have not yet had any concrete impact on potentially relevant proceedings."

The ICC judges agreed with the prosecutor and noted that "Venezuela appears to have taken limited investigative steps and that, in many cases, there appear to be periods of unexplained investigative inactivity."

Human Rights Groups Laud Resumption of Crimes Against Humanity Investigation Vs. Venezuela

Various human rights groups welcomed the decision, with the International Federation For Human Rights (FIDH) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) lauding the decision as a right step forward.

"In a context marked by the dismantling of the rule of law in the country and a new wave of persecution against all dissident voices, the ICC's response is an important turning point, as it allows for the investigation of serious violations of human rights and international criminal law committed by the Maduro regime to move forward," the FIDH said in a statement.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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