Bangladesh's Observations on Rohingya Deportation

The article addresses the Prosecutor’s request of 9 April 2018 for a ruling on whether the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over the deportation of the Rohingyas from Myanmar to Bangladesh, and the Court’s invitation to Bangladesh to submit observations.

Of the Prosecution’s argument, it writes: ‘As convincing as this argument may seem, it hinges on the notion that crossing an international border into another state is an “essential element” of the crime of deportation.’

It proposes a contribution Bangladesh could make: ‘Bangladesh could argue that the border between two states (including the no man’s land and the physical border itself) is a territory over which both states exercise shared sovereignty, i.e. the territory belongs to both states.’