[JURIST] The International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] said Thursday that Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is seeking to open an investigation into allegations of war crimes committed during the 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict, and that the matter has been assigned [decision, PDF] to Pre-Trial Chamber I. Bensouda filed notice with the court that she intends to seek authorization to open an investigation because “there is a reasonable basis to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court have been committed in Georgia in the context of the armed conflict of August 2008.” After filing for the investigation under article 15(3) of the Rome Statute [materials], Bensouda plans to make a public statement to address further efforts of the investigation.

In 2010 representatives from Russia met with ICC prosecutors [JURIST report] to discuss claims of war crimes allegedly committed by Georgian soldiers during the conflict in South Ossetia in August 2008. That conflict occurred when Russia sent its military into Georgia in response to a Georgian bid to strike South Ossetia, an area heavily populated by Russians. The US has taken the position that both nations committed human rights violations [JURIST report] during that conflict. Georgia initially brought the case [JURIST report] before the ICJ in August 2008, shortly after Russia sent troops into Georgia.