Extraterritorial Obligations of Arms Exporting Corporations: New Communication to the ICC

This article provides explanation and analysis of two central aspects of the submission to the Office of the Prosecutor, namely its focus on corporate actors and the interpretation of complicity of corporate actors under the Rome Statute. It outlines the current opacity when it comes to the obligations of corporate actors in the context of the arms trade and the timeliness of this submission in light of the increasing demand on companies to comply with their obligations under IHL and IHRL.

It also addresses how it approached the matter of establishing the responsibility of individuals within corporations for crimes committed against civilians in Yemen, and considers the possible modes of liability available under the Rome Statute. Discussion particularly focuses on complicity and the requirement for the individual to have made a ‘purposeful contribution’ to the criminal act under Article 25(3)(c) Rome Statute.