Palestine and the International Criminal Court

Earlier this year, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court declined acting upon the January 2009 declaration by the Palestinian Authority recognizing the jurisdiction of the Court pursuant to article 12(3) of the Rome Statute. The Prosecutor said that the issue of Palestine's status as a State was to be resolved either by the United Nations General Assembly or by the Court's own Assembly of States Parties. The Assembly of States Parties meets in a few days, but consideration of Palestine's status has not been put on the agenda for discussion.
Nevertheless, Palestine is proceeding with a request to the United Nations General Assembly to be given full observer state status. Here is the request. Should Palestine be successful, the concern of the Prosecutor will be adequately addressed. Then, the Prosecutor can either request authorization of the Pre-Trial Chamber to proceed with an investigation, pursuant to article 15 of the Rome Statute, or wait to be requested to proceed by a State Party (article 14) or by the Security Council (article 13b).