Creating International Accountability
Gonzáles-Cueva, Eduardo
On July 17, 1998, by a vote of 120 to 7 with 21 abstentions, members of the UN General Assembly, meeting in Rome, agreed to establish a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) to try...
...Pinochet's London When fully ratified, the ICC will be a permanent body empowered to try individuals accused of crimes falling under three categories...
...Even this limited jurisdiction has caused U.S...
...and Crimes Against Humanity, including widespread or systematic extermination of civilian pop- ulations, enslavement, torture, systematic rape, forced pregnancy, persecution on political, racial, ethnic or religious grounds, and forced disappearances...
...The ICC Prosecutor will also be able to independently initiate investigation into a crime...
...The ICC will be able to exercise its juris- diction only if those national courts cannot or will not act...
...This principle means that nation- al courts will retain the primary opportunity to try indi- viduals accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes...
...Thus, national criminal jurisdiction-one of the principal elements of sovereignty-will not be easily sur- rendered to an international body...
...control, Washington remains one of the few gov- In Santiago, protest ernments opposed to the agreement...
...If a single permanent member votes against deferral, the investigation or the prosecution must continue...
...The absence of an automatic Security Council veto is another reason for U.S...
...Because the Clinton Administration is afraid that U.S...
...As we celebrate the second anniversary of the 1998 agreement, 14 nations have ratified the Rome Statute, and 97 more have signed it, indicating their intent to seek ratification within their own national legislatures...
...This clause is meant to enable governments to ratify the Statute without the fear of limitless past offenses being taken to the Court-a possibility that concerns almost every country in the world...
...It is therefore reasonable to expect that many countries that become parties to the agree- ment will have to enact comprehensive legislative reforms in order to strengthen their national judicial systems...
...iccnow...
...gation that concerns a matter on its agenda for renewable periods of up to 12 months...
...Eduardo Gonz lez-Cueva is the Global South campaign coordi nator at the NGO Coalition for an international Criminal Court, For documentary information visit www...
...The Statute also gives the Security ers celebrate Council the power to defer an investirrest...
...The cornerstone of the Rome Statute is the principle of "complementarity...
...opposition to the Statute...
...It is now clear that despite Washington's opposition, the Rome Statute has overwhelming support from the world's governments...
...nationals might be judged by a body not under U.S...
...The practical result is that as more states become members of the Court the situa- tion will become similar to universal jurisdiction, since the possibility that accused criminals can find safe havens will be reduced...
...It is generally expected that by the end of this year at least 25 countries will have ratified the Statute and that by late 2002 the first Assem- bly of State Parties will have met in The Hague-the Court's eventual home to begin selecting judges...
...The ICC is not based on the principle of universal jurisdiction, but on the member states' automatic acceptance of the jurisdiction of the Court if crimes have allegedly occurred in their territory or been cormmitted by their nationals...
...The Statute has a non-retroactivity clause meant to dispel fears that the Court might try to prosecute political crimes committed before member states were party to the agreement...
...Cases can be referred to the ICC by member governments or by the UN Security Council...
...mistrust, since the Court could try nationals of non-state parties for crimes committed in the territo ries of state parties...
...The agreement, known as the "Rome Statute," will go into effect after 60 nations have ratified it...
...On July 17, 1998, by a vote of 120 to 7 with 21 abstentions, members of the UN General Assembly, meeting in Rome, agreed to establish a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) to try individuals for the most egregious crimes of international concern...
...genocide, as defined by the 1948 UN Convention against Genocide...
...But if a national court system appears unwilling to try its own citizens because of political collusion or intimidation, the ICC will be able to assume jurisdiction in well-defined situations...
...While it is relatively easy to deter- mine the inability of national courts to try criminal conduct, it is not always easy to define an unwillingness to act...
...As the Pinochet case demonstrated, it is increasingly in the interest of governments to demonstrate that their national systems have not only the material ability to act, but also the political independence to do so...
...While strong supporters of the ICC consider this regrettable, it is important to note that a majority vote of the Council, including every one of its per- manent members, is needed to defer the proceedings...
...war crimes, as defined by the 1949 Geneva Conventions...
...The instances in which a government can be expected to ask the international community to intervene will be extremely rare...
...This means that victims themselves, as well as nongovernmental and intergovern- mental bodies, will be able to approach the Court to present possible cases...
Vol. 34 • July 2000 • No. 1
