A formal request has been submitted to the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Lithuania to initiate a pre-trial investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Four incidents- including the killing of Hind Rajab and her family while trapped in their vehicle, the destruction of Palestine Square, and attacks on the Al-Shifa Medical Complex and UNRWA premises – were reported by ReLex, representing an international NGO, to initiate proceedings under the principle of universal jurisdiction before Lithuanian courts concerning alleged international crimes.
Lithuania ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 1 April 2003, incorporating its provisions into the national law. The principle of complementarity that underlies the ICC, implies States take up international crimes prosecutions themselves (art. 1 of the Statute). Article 7 of the Criminal Code of Lithuania establishes criminal liability for the crimes provided for in international treaties, including the Rome Statute. It stipulates that persons shall be liable under this Code regardless of their citizenship and place of residence, also of the place of commission of a crime and whether the act committed is subject to punishment under laws of the place of commission of the crime.
The Republic of Lithuania considers universal jurisdiction to be an important tool in the fight against impunity for international crimes. The national legislation of the Republic of Lithuania provides the exercise of universal jurisdiction for such crimes, regardless of the citizenship and place of residence of the perpetrator or the territory where the crime has been committed.
According to latest report of UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Commission urges Israel and all States to fulfil their legal obligations under international law to end the genocide and punish those responsible for it. The Commission has been investigating the events on and since 7 October 2023 for the last two years, and concluded that Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, namely killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births. Explicit statements by Israeli civilian and military authorities and the pattern of conduct of the Israeli security forces indicate that the genocidal acts were committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as a group. The report is based on all the Commission’s prior investigations, as well as factual and legal findings in relation to attacks in Gaza carried out by Israeli forces, and the conduct and statements of Israeli authorities from 7 October 2023 until 31 July 2025. The Commission’s findings are based on a comprehensive examination of the underlying acts of genocide (actus reus) and genocidal intent (dolus specialis).
ReLex
