Feasibility of Exercising the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over International Crimes Arising from the Spread of the COVID-19 Virus

Abstract

The novel coronavirus disease emerged in 2019 in Wuhan, China, resulting in the deaths of millions of people worldwide and plunging the world into an economic crisis and widespread social concern. In this context, the possibility that the creation or spread of this virus may have been intentional, as an international crime, and the possibility of adjudicating crimes related to the deliberate creation or dissemination of this disease before the International Criminal Court have attracted considerable attention among legal scholars. With the emergence of such a dangerous virus, there exists the possibility that terrorists could also undertake dangerous actions through bioterrorism in this regard. Accordingly, the present study seeks, while examining international crimes and the crime of bioterrorism, to assess the possibility of prosecuting crimes related to this virus before the International Criminal Court. Given the global spread of the coronavirus and the possibility of its re-emergence through mutation, as well as the potential for states or other actors to use such a virus at any time or to conduct assassinations whose traces cannot easily be identified, it must be noted that no definitive findings have yet been reached regarding the origin of the coronavirus or whether its emergence was intentional or unintentional, and investigations in this regard are ongoing. Therefore, this study may contribute to clarifying this issue and provide a foundation for further legal and scientific research. Furthermore, this study attempts to examine the structure of the coronavirus and analyze the possibility of its mutations in order to assess the potential use of this virus and its variants in the context of future bioterrorism. It also seeks to identify states or actors that may have been involved in its creation or that could potentially exploit its covert origins within a bioterrorism framework, and to present relevant hypotheses in this regard. Accordingly, this research may contribute to preventive efforts and enhance legal preparedness against the misuse of biological agents under international criminal law.