The Appeals Chamber's Jurisdictional Judgment in Abd-Al-Rahman and the Issue of Applicable Law at the International Criminal Court.

This article critically examines the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court's (ICC) 2021 jurisdictional judgment in the Abd-Al-Rahman case, focusing on the court's use of two distinct bodies of substantive law—namely, the ICC Statute and customary international criminal law—to determine criminal liability depending on the case's jurisdictional basis. It argues that this bifurcation leads to problematic and incoherent legal outcomes, lacks normative support, and diverges from the original intent of the ICC's creators, who envisioned the ICC Statute as a reflection of customary international law rather than a standalone code. The article further discusses the interplay between the principle of legality, the role of the UN Security Council's Chapter VII referrals, and the superior jus cogens status of international criminal law norms, advocating for an interpretive approach that consistently aligns the ICC Statute with evolving customary law to ensure coherent and effective prosecution of serious international crimes. Ultimately, it calls for ICC judges to prioritize customary international law and jus cogens principles over a rigid, literal application of the ICC Statute to uphold both legal coherence and the court's mandate to address grave crimes threatening international peace and security.