International Criminal Court to investigate Russia’s war in Georgia
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has included funding for an investigation of the 2008 Russian-Georgian war in its 2018 budget, reported by Georgia Online, quoting an interview with ICC press spokesperson Fadi El-Abdallah.
"The Assembly of ICC member countries is responsible for ensuring that the Court has sufficient financial resources within its mandate, and that all member countries are making a financial contribution to the ICC budget, which includes mobilizing the resources necessary to continue the investigation of the situation in Georgia. The Court is preparing a budget for 2018, which provides for the continuation of the investigation, and will cooperate with the Assembly to approve this budget in December," it was noted in the interview.
The International Court notes that in the current investigation of the August 2008 war, the Prosecutor's Office is guided by the basic and strict principles of independence, impartiality and objectivity.
Additionally, the ICC suggested that the member countries of the Rome Statute, who fund the investigations of the International Criminal Court, might reduce the budget for investigating war crimes in different regions.
Experts attribute this, among other things, to the growth of Russian influence on the member countries of the Rome Statute.
On August 8, 2008, an armed conflict began between Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Russia on the one hand, and Georgia on the other.