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It is a moot memorial of one international criminal law moot court competition
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THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION Team code- TC-
PLEADINGS………………………………………………………………………….. I.WHETHER MUONA’S INTRUSION IN THE MASENIA PROVINCE OF THE IXANINAN TERRITORY A HIGHlY STRATEGIC MOVE AND VIOALTION OF THE STATUTE A. WHETHER NON SIGNATORIES CAN BE TRIED WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT B. MUONA’S ACTION VIOLATED THE ROME STATUTE. II. MUONA’S INTENTIONAL LAUNCH OF ATTACK TO CAUSE INCIDENTAL LOSS TO CIVILIANS OBJECTS AND LONG TERM DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMNET A. MUONA GUILTY OF KILLING 18 CREW MEMBERS OF MV SITRA, A HENIOUS CRIME INDEED B. MUONA HAS CAUSED LONG LASTING DAMAGE TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF IXANIA. C. BREACH OF THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS REGARDING THE OIL CONTAMINATION CAUSED BY THE OCEAN HUNTER THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
VCLT Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties ICSC Ixanian Cyber Security Centre USV unmanned surface vehicle IHL International Humanitarian Law UNHCHR United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
The Prosecution submits the following dispute to the International Criminal Court by way of verifying the Jurisdiction and Admissibility under Article 12 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
Ixania, officially the Republic of Ixania is a country to the south of continent Nasia. Bounded by the Ixanian Ocean on the south, it shares land borders with Rakista to the west; Dhupan to south west, Chegal to North and Muona to the east. Ixania has been a quasi-federal republic since 1950, governed in a democratic parliamentary system. And the constitution of Ixania, which came into force in 1954 describes Ixania as secular, democratic republic. After initially cordial relations with neighbouring Rakista, Ixania has disturbed relations with Rakista due to differences in religious and political ideologies. Ixania also has tense relations with neighbouring Muona; the two nations have gone to war two times: in 1966, and 1999. Both these wars were fought over the disputed territory of Masenia province, which is located at the south east corner of Ixania. Muona is additionally involved in maritime dispute with Ixania over the maritime zone of Masenia province. The Republic of Muona is a socialist state governed by a people's democratic dictatorship that is led by the working class. Muona and Ixania are two of the major regional powers in Nasia, and are among the fastest growing major economies in the world. In early 2013, Mr. Jim Clipman was elected as the President of Muona and was subsequently re-elected in 2019. Since 2013, border disputes have reemerged to take centre stage in the two countries' mutual relations. In 2017, the two armies got engaged in a standoff at the disputed Ixania-Muona border. Since then, armed standoffs and skirmishes at multiple locations along the entire Ixanian- Muona border escalated. 2019, the Muonese Liberation army (MLA) infiltrated 129 km inside the disputed Masenia Province. In the serious clash that followed the intrusion, the Muonese Army was completely pushed backed by the end of 2020, resulting in the death of 370 Ixanian soldiers and 422 Muonies soldiers, and many thousands injured from both sides. Muonies military incursions into Ixanian territory. that Masenia Province has always been a part of independent Ixania and is internationally recognized as its territory. Ixania remains wary about Muona's strong strategic bilateral relations with Rakista, and Muona's funding to the separatist groups in Northeast Ixania. Muona is actively involved in propaganda campaign against Ixania and supplies ideological financial and other assistance to dissident groups, especially to tribes in north-eastern Ixania. 10.In January 2020, Nesiapost, an international news agency reported that a high-profile secretive meeting was called by the President of Muona, to discuss the THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
IXANINAN TERRITORY A HIGHlY STRATEGIC MOVE AND VIOALTION OF THE STATUTE -II- MUONA’S INTENTIONAL LAUNCH OF ATTACK TO CAUSE INCIDENTAL LOSS TO CIVILIANS OBJECTS AND LONG TERM DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMNET -III- MUONA’S CYBER ATTACK ON IXANIAN’S CIVILIAN OBJECTS AN INTENTIONAL WAR CRIME THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
It is humbly submitted before the Hon’ble International Criminal Court that Muona is to be held liable for planning and executing a highly strategic move by intruding the Masenia Province and has clearly violated the International Statute. ISSUE II: MUONA’S INTENTIONAL LAUNCH OF ATTACK TO CAUSE INCIDENTAL LOSS TO CIVILIANS OBJECTS AND LONG TERM DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT In the present case Muona has developed a USV called the Ocean Hunter, and also positioned a ferrous dome, an air defence system to destroy short range rockets, and MV Sitra Ixania’s Tanker was hit by the missile launched by the Ocean Hunter, which claimed lives of 18 crew members and has caused long lasting damage to the Natural Environment of Ixania by way of Oil contamination. ISSUE III: MUONA’S CYBER ATTACK ON IXANIAN’S CIVILIAN OBJECTS AN INTENTIONAL WAR CRIME It is humbly submitted that Muona is behind all the Cyber Attacks taken place aginst Ixania where more than 7000 websites, including websites of Ixanina Parliament, ministries, defense and high tech companies were hacked to obtain confidential data and it was confirmed by the Ixanian Cyber Security Centre that the cyber attacks were initiated from the territory of Muonaa THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
ICC Statute states that the Court would have jurisdiction over a crime if the State on the territory of which the conduct in question occurred. the widely accepted objective territorial principle deems any crime to fall within a State’s territorial jurisdiction if any constituent element of such crime, including its consequences, occurs on that State’s territory^2 In February this year, the PTC announced that the ICC may exercise jurisdiction over territory occupied by Israel since 1967, namely, West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, to investigate potential war crimes. Israel, in this scenario, is not a state party to the Statute. In the Myanmar case, the PTC held that, in the case of deportation, only one element of the alleged crime must have taken place on the territory of a state party to the Statute. The PTC was of the opinion that the crime of deportation was one that was “inherently transboundary” in nature, and for deportation to have occurred there needs to be a crossing of international borders. In this case, the Rohingyas were deported to Bangladesh, a state party to the Statute, and the PTC held that the preconditions to the exercise of jurisdictions, pursuant to Article 12(2)(a) of the Statute, were fulfilled. This decision in effect extended the jurisdiction of the ICC over the non-party state of Myanmar, not only for the crime of deportation but also for the crime of forced persecution and other crimes. In the same judgment, two important points were set forth by the ICC. First, the ICC held that “There is no question that this Court is equally endowed with the power to determine the limits of its own jurisdiction” under the doctrine of la competence de la competence or Kompetenz- Kompetenz, which states that a court has the jurisdiction to determine its own jurisdiction. The second major point was the fact that a part of the conduct in question took place on the territory of a state not party to the Statute does not disqualify the ICC from exercising its jurisdiction on such a state, because such a restrictive interpretation of Article 12(2)(a) of the Statute would be contrary to the objects and purposes of the Statute^3. (^2) The States Parties to The Rome Statute, Cour Penale Internationale, W.A. Schabas, The International Criminla Court: A Commenatary To The Rome Statute (2010). (^3) Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Rome on 17 July 1998, Uniuted Nations Treaty Series, Vol.2187, No. 38544. THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
The ICC has previously held that when Article 21(1)(a) of the Statute is silent on a particular matter, Articles 31 and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) must be contextually read to help with interpretation. Articles 31 and 32 of the VCLT provide the guidelines for interpretation of treaties. Article 31(1) states that treaties must be interpreted keeping in mind their objects and purposes. In The Case Of The Prosecutor V. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, it has clearly reffered to the power of jurisdiction of ICC The ‘Decision under article 87(7) of the Rome Statute on the noncompliance by Jordan with the request by the Court for the arrest^4 and surrender of Omar Al-Bashir’ is unanimously confirmed to the extent that Pre-Trial Chamber II found that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan had failed to comply with its obligations under the Statute by not executing the Court’s request for the arrest of Mr Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir. Resolution 1593 gives the Court power to exercise its jurisdiction over the situation in Darfur, Sudan, which it must exercise ‘in accordance with the Statute. This includes article 27(2), which provides that immunities are not a bar to the exercise of jurisdiction In accordance with the provisions of the Statute, there are specific instances where the ICC can try nationals of a state that is not a party to the Statute, such as when a crime under the Statute is committed on the territory of a state party. Provisions such as these make it abundantly clear that the ICC operates on the basis of a restricted jurisdiction and not one of universal jurisdiction. Such a proposal, made by Germany and Korea was expressly rejected by the other countries in establishing the ICC. B. MUONA’S ACTION VIOLATED THE ROME STATUTE. Under international law, states have a responsibility to investigate and appropriately prosecute (or extradite for prosecution) suspected perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other international crimes. The ICC does not shift this responsibility. It is a court of last resort. Under what is known as the “principle of complementarity,” the ICC may only exercise its jurisdiction when a country is either (^4) The Prosecutor V. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir, ICC-02/05-01/09 4 March 2009 and 12 July 2010. THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
airport, as well as well as Ixania’s central bank, were disrupted after ransomware encrypted hard drives. Flight were suspended and no banking transaction could take place for 48 hours. II. MUONA’S INTENTIONAL LAUNCH OF ATTACK TO CAUSE INCIDENTAL LOSS TO CIVILIANS OBJECTS AND LONG TERM DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMNET In the instant case damage to the natural environment is a constituent element of the war crime underArt.8(2)(b)(iv) and Muona has clearly violated Article 8 (2)(b)(i) by intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individuals, Muoana attacked the civilians and it clearly is a war crime and it has been clearly mentioned in the Rome Statute and which is mainly Crimes against Humanity. In contrast with genocide, crimes against humanity do not need to target a specific group. Instead, the victim of the attack can be any civilian population, regardless of its affiliation or identity. Another important distinction is that in the case of crimes against humanity, it is not necessary to prove that there is an overall specific intent. A. MUONA GUILTY OF KILLING 18 CREW MEMBERS OF MV SITRA, A HENIOUS CRIME INDEED Prosecution submits that, for the purposes of Art.12, the terms conduct and crime are synonymous. The ICC Statute uses the term ‘conduct’ in two distinct forms. The first is as a component of a crime, as indicated above. Such usage is found in Art.30. The second is to denote the entire set of facts concerning a crime, inclusive of its consequences, and can be found in Muona had positioned, an indigenously developed autonomous unmanned surface vehicle (USV) ‘Ocean hunter’ within its maritime zone. Its functions included reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence, surface warfare, electronic warfare, data collection, force protection, armed escort etc. Operationally, the computers drive and control the ship, with human only observing and taking charge if necessary and this system capable of being controlled without human guidance, using optical guidance and radar to avoid hitting obstacles or other watercraft. However, firing decisions remain with human on the loop which is one major point to be noted which acts as an evidence to prove the intentional attack on the civilians of ixania THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
which resulted in killing 18 crew members of MV Sitra and Captain Vin Padro was assigned the full responsibility of monitoring and operating Ocean hunter and finally On 11th October 2020, at around 8pm an oil tanker MV Sitra was hit by a missile launched by ‘ocean hunter’. The tanker was only 12km of the coast from Ixania, and was about to complete its 11,000 km journey from Gubain to Arcacia port in the southern coast of Ixania, when it was hit and exploded. At the time of sinking, she was owned by the Ixanian Shipping Company and flying the flag of Ixania. The missile attack and explosion claimed the lives of 18 crew members. Also as per war analysis it is said that Muona had deployed ‘ocean hunter’ without sufficient testing and trials an majorly the point to be noted is that war is not a testing ground For New Weapons. Muona Has Not Shown Any Respect And Interest In Keeping Up With The Geneva Convention For The Amelioration Of The Condition Of Wounded, Sick And Shipwrecked Members Of Armed Forces At Sea Of 12 August 1949, therefore violating Article 1 and Article 2 of the above provision and Ixanian civilians are bound to be protected by Article 12 of this provision, which clearly mentions that those who are at sea and who are wounded shall be respected and protected in all circumstances. And also as per Article 13^7 which enlists the protected persons can be civilians also. 21 counts of war crimes: murder, cruel treatment of civilians, intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population, pillaging, inducing rape, forced enlistment of children, allegedly committed after 1 July 2002 in Northern Uganda, which was decided in the case Prosecutor v. Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti. B. MUONA HAS CAUSED LONG LASTING DAMAGE TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF IXANIA. The missile attack and explosion claimed the lives of 18 crew members. The firefighters from the Ixanian Coast Guard was immediately sent to the scene to control the fire and contain the spreading of oil spill. However, a week after the collision, Sitra Express was still burning, (^7) The Prosecutor v. Joseph Kony and Vincent Otti ICC-02/04-01/05. Representation of the Office of the Prosecutor. THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
also been used in the ENMOD Convention and Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Convention. According to the ENMOD Convention^10 , ‘widespread’ encompasses an area on the scale of several hundred square kilometers long-lasting’ indicates a periodof months or approximately a season and ‘severe’ involves ‘serious or significant disruption or harm to human life, natural and economic resources or other assets C. BREACH OF THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS REGARDING THE OIL CONTAMINATION CAUSED BY THE OCEAN HUNTER The Geneva Conventions, in their current wording, were adopted in 1949 (the original Convention was adopted in 1864). There are four related treaties containing restrictions on violence during armed conflict. These are the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field; the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea; the Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War; and the Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. There are also two Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions: relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (I) and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (II). An international armed conflict exists whenever there is a resort to armed force between States Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadi In the instant case Muona has clearly violated the Geneva Conventions^11 i.Article 51 of the Protocol relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts: the civilian population enjoys general protection against danger arising from hostilities and must not be attacked. Attacks on non-military facilities are expressly prohibited; ii.Article 52 of the Protocol relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts. This article concerns civilian objects, i.e., all objects which are not military objectives, stating that such objects cannot be attacked; (^10) UN Documents gathering a body of global agreeements, adopted by 31/72 of the UN Gneral Assembly on 10 December 1976. (^11) Convention on the prohibition of Military or any other hostile use of Environmental modification techniques. Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadi, Iv Geneva Convention Relative To The Protection Of Civilian Persons In Time Of War Of 12 August 1949, Natural Environment. THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
iii.Article 3 of the Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War stating that persons taking no active part in the hostilities must be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction; iv.Article 32 of the Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War prohibits taking any measure to cause physical suffering or extermination. And also in direct violation of Article 56 of Protocol (I) to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, i.e., protection of works and installations containing dangerous forces. The Attack on Ixania’s Oil Tankewr MV Sitra is clearly a breach of Article 18 of the Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict. In The Case Of The Prosecutor V. Bosco Ntaganda^12 , observed the term attack The Amici submit that the definition of “attack” as it applies to Article 8(2)(e)(iv)’s prohibition on “intentionally directing attacks^13 against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments hereafter “cultural property and hospitals” should not be narrowly interpreted. The Amici submit that the definition of “attack” should recognize the continuous nature and duration of acts of violence carried out in continuing pursuit of an overall military objective. Hence Prosecution submits that Muona has failed to comply with its due-diligence obligations. III. MUONA’S CYBER ATTACK ON IXANIAN’S CIVILIAN OBJECTS AN INTENTIONAL WAR CRIME In February 2020, a huge cyber-attack was carried out against Ixania, which knocked out more than 7,000 websites, including websites of Ixanian parliament, ministries, defence and high tech companies, public service portals and allowed hackers to obtain confidential data. In March 2020, The attack on part of Ixania’s electricity grid left 7,40,000 people in the (^12) The Prosecutor V. Bosco Ntaganda,definition for the term “attack”. Malcolm Shaw, Internationa Law (7th (^) Ed
(^13) Treaties, States Parties and Commentaries, Rome Statute of The International Criminal Court, 17th (^) July 1998. THE 12TH^ AMITY INTERNATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION
