Bangladesh's Observations on Rohingya Deportation

On 9 April 2018 the Prosecutor asked the Court to rule on whether it had jurisdiction over the deportation of Rohingya from Myanmar into Bangladesh. The theory was narrow and ingenious: deportation is completed only when the victims cross into another state, so an essential element of the crime occurs on the territory of a state party even though Myanmar is not one.

Bangladesh was invited to submit observations, and this piece examines what was actually at stake for it in doing so.

The position was genuinely balanced. Supporting jurisdiction advanced accountability for the Rohingya sheltering on Bangladeshi soil. It also meant a state accepting, in terms, that the Court’s reach extends to conduct partly occurring on its own territory, a proposition with consequences well beyond this situation.

The Pre-Trial Chamber went on to accept the deportation theory, and the situation was opened for investigation.