On March 11, 2026, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered [3] its judgment on the appeal of Edmond Beina against the decision [4] of Pre-Trial Chamber II finding the case against him is inadmissible before the Court. The Appeals Chamber confirmed the Pre-Trial Chamber’s determination that the Central African Republic (CAR) is willing and able genuinely to investigate and prosecute the case against Mr. Beina.

Mr. Beina [5] is alleged to be responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder, extermination, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty, rape and attempted rape, and persecution; and the war crimes of murder and attempted murder, intentional attack against the civilian population, pillaging, rape and attempted rape, displacement of the civilian population, and destruction of the adversary’s property – allegedly committed in Guen, Central African Republic, between at least 1 February to early April 2014.

On September 12, 2025, Pre-Trial Chamber II determined that the case was inadmissible under Article 17(1)(a) because the CAR was willing and able to genuinely investigate and prosecute the case against Mr. Beina. Mr. Beina appealed this decision, arguing that the CAR’s admissibility challenge had not been brought at the “earliest opportunity” and that the domestic proceedings lack independence and impartiality. The Appeals Chamber rejected all grounds of appeal and confirmed the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision.

Photo by Tony Webster