On March 5, 2020, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided to authorize the prosecutor to commence a proprio motu investigation into the alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Afghanistan War since 2003. This decision is the first case where the requirements for the authorization of an investigation under Article 15(4) of the ICC Rome Statute (Statute) were tested on appeal. The case lays down a marker as to how the ICC sees the division of roles between the Pre-Trial Chamber and the Office of the Prosecutor. The Appeals Chamber proved willing to give the prosecutor broad discretion at the investigation stage. Without limiting principles, this approach may eventually expand the role of the Court beyond what the Statute permits.

中文翻译：

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阿富汗伊斯兰共和国局势

2020 年 3 月 5 日，国际刑事法院 (ICC) 上诉分庭决定授权检察官启动自行对自 2003 年以来在阿富汗战争期间犯下的涉嫌战争罪和危害人类罪的调查。该决定是第一个根据《国际刑事法院罗马规约》（规约）第 15 条第 4 款授权调查的要求的案例上诉。该案为国际刑事法院如何看待预审分庭和检察官办公室之间的角色划分奠定了一个标志。事实证明，上诉分庭愿意在调查阶段给予检察官广泛的自由裁量权。在不限制原则的情况下，这种方法最终可能会将法院的作用扩大到《规约》所允许的范围之外。