European Newsletter # 33 · 2006-03-16 · European Coordinator: Irune Aguirrezabal Quijera, [email protected] Latin American and Caribbean Coordinator: José Guevara, [email protected]

Director Irune Aguirrezabal Quijera Editor Rita Patriacutecio CICC European Office Rue Montoyer 6 - 1000 Brussels Belgium Tel + 32 2 502 62 15 Fax + 32 2 502 62 38 E-mail cicceurope2iccnoworg Website wwwiccnoworg

In this Edition bull THE UNITED STATESrsquo ISOLATED STRUGGLE AGAINST THE ICC Following the US 1 July deadline

many States have resisted signing Bilateral Impunity Agreements The Coalition lauds those states and urges the international community to continue to uphold the integrity of the Rome Statute and international law p3

bull JULY 2003 ICC HAS 91 STATES PARTIES Guinea ratified the Rome Statue on the 14 July 2003 p5 bull 17JULY 2003 ROME STATUTE OF THE ICC CELEBRATES 5TH ANNIVERSARY Activists worldwide

celebrate the effort to end impunity p5 bull ICC PROSECUTOR TO ldquoFOLLOW CLOSELYrdquo SITUATION IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF

CONGO In a press briefing in The Hague on the 16th July 2003 the ICC Prosecutor Dr Luis Moreno Ocampo made his first public statement regarding the 499 communications received by the Court p5

bull ASSEMBLY OF STATES PARTIES MEETS IN SEPTEMBER 2003 Election of the Deputy Prosecutor Election of members of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for the benefit of victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court and families of such victims Report of the special working group on the crime of aggression Establishment of an international criminal bar p6

bull THE AGREEMENT ON PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES The Coalition continues to appeal to all States to proceed expeditiously in signing and ratifying the APIC p7

bull BECOME A MEMBER OF THE NGO COALITION FOR THE ICC The Coalition invites you to become a CICC member p8

bull AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL LAUNCHES RATIFICATION CAMPAIGN On World Day for International Justice AI launched a universal ratification campaign aimed at lobbying for as many ratifications of the Rome Statute as possible in the next 10 years p8

bull EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DEBATES ICC AND PASSES RESOLUTION WITH STRONG CALL FOR SUPPORT TO THE ICC p9

bull OSCE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY ADOPTS RESOLUTION ON ICC p10 bull THE COALITION REPORTS The European Office of the Coalition for the ICC brings to your attention

reports of relevant ICC meetings EC Special Seminar with human rights NGOs held in Brussels on the 14 July 2003 and the Expert Meeting ldquoLegal Remedies for Victims of lsquoInternational Crimesrsquo - Fostering an EU Approach to lsquoExtraterritorial Jurisdictionrsquordquo ndash Paris 16-17 July 2003 p11

bull UPDATES ON RATIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION IN EUROPE More developments in Georgia Russia Slovenia and Serbia and Montenegro p 12- 19

bull CALENDAR OF ICC EVENTS p21-22 bull LATEST PUBLICATIONS p22

CONTACT THE COALITION FOR THE ICC Asian Coordinator Evelyn Serrano ciccasiaiccnoworg

European Coordinator Irune Aguirrezabal Quijera cicceuropeiccnoworg Latin American and Caribbean Coordinator Joseacute Guevara cicc2iccnoworg

The Hague Office Legal Adviser Jennifer Schense cicclegaliccnoworg New York Office Program Director Tanya Karanasios cicc1iccnoworg

Convenor of the Coalition William R PACE Website wwwiccnoworg

European Newsletter

Coalition for the International Criminal Court The European monthly publication on the International Criminal Court 33rd Edition August 2003

NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court

What is the Coalition for the International Criminal Court

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) is a network of over two thousand civil society organisations in around 150 countries supported through regional coordinators and liaisons based all over the world The role of the Coalition is to represent facilitate and coordinate the work of its worldwide membership while serving as the primary information resource on the ICC and a liaison between governments International Criminal Court officials international organisations academics and civil society members The Coalition is working since 1995 towards a common goal the establishment of a permanent fair and independent International Criminal Court (ICC) Since the Rome Conference adopted in July 1998 by an overwhelming majority of states (120) the Rome Statute the NGO Coalition has been mandated to focus on five interconnected goals bull Promoting education and awareness of the ICC

and the Rome Statute at the national regional and global level

bull Facilitating the effective participation of civil society and NGOs as observers at the Assembly of States Parties in particular of representatives from the south

bull Expanding and strengthening the global network of organisations working on the ICC

bull Promoting universal acceptance and ratification of the Rome Statute as well as promoting and facilitating technical cooperation to ensure the adoption of strong domestic implementing legislation

bull Assuring the effective establishment of the ICC Since 1999 the EUROPEAN OFFICE of the Coalition is based in Brussels with a mandate to further the goals outlined above with a particular focus on this region

The Steering Committee of the Coalition for the ICC Amnesty International Asociacion Pro Derechos Humanos European Law Students Association Federation Internationale Des Ligues Des Droits De Lrsquohomme Human Rights Watch International Center For Human Rights And Democratic Development International Commission of Jurists Lawyers Committee For Human Rights No Peace Without Justice Parliamentarians For Global Action Union Interafricaine Pour Les Droits De Lrsquohomme Womenrsquos Caucus For Gender Justice The World Federalist Movement

What is the International Criminal Court

The ICC is an independent body governed by the countries to have ratified its treaty the Rome Statute Unlike the Rwanda and Yugoslavian War Crimes Tribunals created by a Security Council Resolution the ICC jurisdiction is not chronologically or geographically limited The ICC jurisdiction embraces crimes under Art 5 to 8 of the Rome Statute (genocide crimes against humanity war crimes and once defined the crime of aggression) It applies to crimes committed after the 1st of July 2002 in the context of international armed conflicts or internal intra states wars State Parties can refer situations to the Prosecutor of the Court when the crime was eventually committed by a national of a State Party or in the territory of a State Party Moreover the Prosecutor may initiate investigations proprio motu When the above criterion is not applicable the ICC has jurisdiction when the UN Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations refers a situation to the Prosecutor in which one or more crimes appears to have been committed or if a State non Party

to the Rome Statute accepts the exercise of the jurisdiction by the Court The ICC does not replace national legal systems It is complementary to national jurisdictions Thus it will only operate when national systems are unable or unwilling to carry out the investigations and prosecutions of such crimes Therefore the primary responsibility for prosecution for these crimes lies within States To this effect national legislation and practices should enable States to bring to justice the persons responsible for the crimes under Art 5 to 8 of the Rome Statute The national legislation must allow States to comply with the obligations set up in the Statute to cooperate with the Court There are different approaches for implementing effective national legislation depending on the legal system constitutional requirements and traditions of each state Technical assistance provided by states that have already ratified and are in the process of enacting national legislation would facilitate and speed up the process among other states

Historical Overview

With 91 States Parties as of 14 July 2003 the ICCrsquos jurisdiction continues to broaden its scope and support all over the world Yet the universal nature of the Rome Statute calls for prompt and worldwide ratification and accession

European Newsletter 33 2

In June and July 1998 in an effort to strengthen mechanisms of international justice and bring an end to impunity the international community met at the Rome Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries The purpose of this gathering was to work on a treaty to establish the worldrsquos first permanent International Criminal Court At the time many thought it impossible that the five weeks of negotiations would result in the adoption of a treaty Yet on 17 July 1998 the Rome Statute of the ICC was adopted by a vote of 120 to 7 with 21 abstentions Even with this enormous achievement predictions were made that it would be decades before enough governments would make the political commitment and work through the complex legal issues to bring the treaty into force Since the adoption of the Rome Statute one hundred thirty nine countries signed the Courts treaty by the established deadline of December 31 2000 With the deposit of the 60th ratification instrument on the 11th April 2002 the Rome Statute entered into force on the 1st July 2002 pursuant to article 126 of the Rome Statute beginning the jurisdiction of the worlds first permanent tribunal capable of trying individuals accused of the most serious violations of International Humanitarian Law genocide war crimes crimes against humanity and once defined aggression Following the entry into force of the Rome Statute on July 1 2002 the ICC established its headquarters in The Hague the Netherlands and sworn in its top officials including eighteen judges the Prosecutor and Registrar The Court is expected to begin investigating and hearing cases once all its officials are installed What is Next in the ICC campaign

With the entry into force of the Rome Statute a new epoch in international justice has begun Much work remains to ensure that the Court will be as fair effective and independent as possible yet we are inspired by the overwhelming commitment of governments and NGOs from every region of the world Together we will work to ensure that the potential of this great institution is fully realised Members of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court are convinced that in addition to being a strong instrument for strengthening national justice systems democracy and Peace the ICC represents a profoundly ethical response to the horrendous crimes suffered by millions of victims throughout history Its creation is one of the best examples of what can be achieved through strong cooperation among governments

international organisations and civil society groups Meanwhile NGOs are mindful that in many ways their work on the ICC is only beginning The Coalition has identified critical goals for the next phase of its work which include 1 Obtaining worldwide ratification of the Rome Statute 2 Ensuring the development of strong implementing legislation in all countries that have signed ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute for the ICC 3 Ensuring that the appropriate mechanisms are in place for the Court to begin functioning effectively as early as possible 4 Monitoring and supporting the work of the Assembly of States Parties

The United Statesrsquo Isolated Struggle against the ICC

by Irune Aguirrezabal Quijera As part of the United Statesrsquo campaign to exclude its citizens and military personnel from the jurisdiction of the ICC the Bush administration has been approaching countries around the world seeking to conclude Bilateral Impunity Agreements (BIAs) or so called ldquoArticle 98rdquo agreements These agreements prohibit the surrender to the ICC of a broad scope of persons including current or former government officials military personnel and US employees (including contractors) and nationals These agreements which in some cases are reciprocal do not include an obligation by the US to subject those persons to investigation andor prosecution While these US-proposed bilateral agreements are purportedly based on Art 982 of the Rome Statute they are in fact a clear violation of the negotiatorsrsquo intentions and go far beyond the letter and spirit of that article Drafters of the Statute did not envisage situations of impunity

but sought to create a system to end impunity for the gravest crimes in accordance with the principle of complementarity As David Sheffer former US ambassador for war crimes and a chief negotiator at the Rome Statute drafting conference said in the Wall Street Journal published on 20 September 2002 ldquothe original intent of the Art 98 agreements was to ensure that Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) would not be compromised and that Americans on official duty could be specially covered by agreements that fit in the terms of the articlerdquo Approximately 50 states have signed bilateral immunity agreements with the US to date but few states have ratified these accords Most of those states that have concluded an agreement have done so under strong US pressure In some instances these bilateral agreements have been linked to the American Servicememberacutes Protection Act (ASPA) a US law which authorizes the withdrawal of US military assistance from States Parties to the ICC that did not conclude a

BIA before 1 July 2003 NATO members non-NATO allies (Egypt Jordan Israel Australia Argentina New Zealand The Republic of Korea and Japan) and Taiwan are specifically exempt from this legislation which is targeted at States Parties to the Rome Statute Provisions in the ASPA also allow President Bush to issue waivers to those countries for US national security interests However the Bush administration has been exercising unconscionable diplomatic tactics that go beyond the provisions of the ASPA threatening poor countries in all regions of the world to violate their international obligations or otherwise lose vital US financial and political support US Assistant Secretary of State Stephen Rademaker has reportedly threatened to deny benefits of the New Horizons program which includes funds for hurricane relief and rural dentistry and veterinary efforts to countries in the Caribbean Community According to a senior official in the Niger Ministry of Foreign Affairs the US has threatened to suspend cooperative development projects if Niger does not sign a bilateral immunity agreement US Ambassador to Bahamas Richard Blankenship has publicly warned that if the Bahamas did not support the US position on the ICC a significant amount of aid would be withheld including aid for paving and lighting an airport runway In the case of Bulgaria loss of military aid has been linked to NATO membership US Ambassador in Croatia Lawrence Rossin even published a letter in the Zagreb press warning that Croatia would lose $19 million in military aid unless they sign an immunity deal Despite this intense pressure several states have resisted signing a BIA and on July 1 the Bush administration announced its intention to impose its threat to cut off military aid to 35 States Parties including Brazil Bulgaria Central African Republic Colombia Croatia Estonia Fiji Peru Slovenia South Africa Tanzania Trinidad and Tobago among others Programs affected included foreign military financing or international military education and training On the same day President Bush issued a White House memorandum in which 22 states were granted waivers from ASPA for different periods of time in order to allow countries that have signed BIAs to ratify the agreements in Parliament A number of states received a four-month waiver (as they reportedly signed a BIA before May 1) and several states that signed an agreement after May 1 have received a six-month waiver A select number of states received a waiver for an indefinite period of time The Coalition lauds those states that have resisted signing BIAs and urges states to continue to uphold the integrity of the Rome Statute and international law NGOs and intergovernmental bodies have been denouncing

these agreements as unlawful and a violation of the Rome Statute and international law by permitting impunity for the worst crimes against humanity The European Union for example issued the General Affairs Council Conclusions and ldquoguiding principlesrdquo stating that the US-proposed agreements were clearly inconsistent with the Rome Statute as well as with obligations arising from other international treaties and setting benchmarks to which all agreements (including agreements already concluded) should comply On the 16 June 2003 the Council of the European Union approved a new Common Position on the ICC which called on EU member states to prevent the conclusion of BIAs by committing to ldquocontinue as appropriate to draw the attention of third States to the Council Conclusions of 30 September 2002 on the International Criminal Court and to the EU Guiding Principles annexed thereto with regard to proposals for agreements or arrangements concerning conditions for the surrender of persons to the Courtrdquo On June 25 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe subsequently adopted Resolution 1336 ldquoThreats to the International Criminal Courtrdquo condemning the agreements as a violation of the Rome Statute and international law and supporting those states that have resisted US pressure to sign BIAs The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has also issued a statement on US-proposed bilateral accords reaffirming ldquotheir strong support for the principles and purposes of the ICCrdquo and condeming the US action to withhold military assistance from the 6 CARICOM countries that are States Parties to the ICC Indeed the United States is isolated in its aggressive disrespectful and unfair campaign aimed at undermining the authority and effectiveness of the ICC Victims and the world community view the US as a hegemonic super power that refuses to be under the rule of law and yet imposes its own order to other states and citizens The USrsquo intention to create a two-tier justice system one for the rest of the world and one for Americans is just unacceptable The US cannot be above the law In a recent article in Foreign Affairs (MayJune 2003) Michael J Glennon explains that James Madison was confronted with the same dilemma when drafting the Constitution ldquoThe question was why the powerful should obey the law Madison answer was that the incentive lies in an assessment of future circumstances in the unnerving possibility that the strong may one day become weak and then need the protection of the lawhellip Hegemony thus sits in tension with the principle of equalityrdquo Irune Aguirrezabal Quijera is European Coordinator for the Coalition for the ICC

JULY 2003 91 STATES PARTIES TO ICC TREATY On the 14 July 2003 Guinea deposited the instrument of ratification of the Rome Statue at the UN Headquarters in New York thus becoming the 91st State Party to the ICC Other countries are to follow On July the 16 the Georgian Parliament approved the bill of ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC The official deposit of the instrument of ratification is expected shortly July 17th marks World Day for International Justice Rome Statute Celebrates 5th Anniversary Activists Worldwide Celebrate the Effort to End Impunity

(New York July 17 2003) - Numerous activists around the globe celebrated the World Day for International Justice in recognition of the evolving system of international justice that has emerged in the past century to provide new tools of accountability for the most serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law The 17th of July also marks the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) the first permanent international tribunal capable of trying individuals accused of genocide crimes against humanity and war crimes Nearly one-half of the worlds nations have ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC in the last five years representing a revolution in the political moral and legal attitude against war and those who commit mass atrocities said William Pace convenor of the more than 2000 global member NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court Linking peace with individual justice will mean the end of impunity he said This new system of international criminal justice represents a great victory for the protection of universal human rights the advancement of human security and the progress of national legal systems said Mr Pace The creation of the International Criminal Court provides a mechanism to save lives deter conflicts and diminish war in the twenty-first century Every year since 1998 civil society worldwide organises events and activities to mark this special day In a celebration in Rome the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that Italy currently holding the Presidency of the European Union means to support the courts operations and continue to convince those states which have not yet ratified the treaty to do so Regarding the US decision not to ratify the Statute and to conclude bilateral impunity agreements Frattini said These concerns are understandable but I believe the ICC statute gives sufficient guarantees to ensure independence The ministers added that the fight against impunity must become the duty of all Europe Only a fully independent universal credible and efficient court will be able to ensure our objective he concluded in other words following the path justice to reach peace ICC Prosecutor to ldquoFollow Closelyrdquo Situation In The Democratic Republic of Congo

Of 499 Communications One Situation to be Examined for Possible Further Action On the 16th of July in The Hague the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo gave his first public analysis of the nearly 500 communications that the Court has received since the Rome Statute of the ICC entered into force on July 1 2002 Dr Moreno Ocampo provided information about the country origin and types of communications received and basic information about the courtrsquos jurisdiction over genocide crimes against humanity and war crimes He also identified the Democratic Republic of Congo and the north-eastern province of Ituri in particular as a situation referred to the ICC that his office would ldquofollow closelyrdquo Since 1 July 2002 more than 5000 people died in Ituri as a direct consequence of crimes that could constitute genocide war crimes or crimes against humanity Dr Moreno Ocampo is reported to have said at todayrsquos briefing The Prosecutor announced that he will begin with a preliminary examination and will seek

additional information from international organizations including the UN states non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others before launching a formal investigation ldquoThe Prosecutor clearly demonstrated today to those seeking justice that the Court is ready to act and to those who have expressed concerns that he will respect the jurisdictional limits of the Rome Statute Further the Prosecutor recognized that it is vital to have the support of the international community and international organizationsrdquo said William Pace convenor of a global network of more than 2000 civil society organizations allied through the Coalition for the ICC ldquoMany of our members believe that the atrocities being committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo reflect a prime example of a situation in which the ICC will need the support of the international community and the UN in pursuing justice and restoring the rule of lawrdquo he said The Democratic Republic of Congo became an ICC State Party on April 11 2001 and the government

is still considering national implementing legislation Of the 499 situations communicated to the Court since July of 2002 75 reports alleged atrocities and two-thirds of the reports were submitted by various actors within six countries Germany the United States France the United Kingdom the Netherlands and Spain Reports were submitted by individuals and NGOs located in a total of 66 countries 27 of which are not ICC States Parties To date no situations have been

referred by the UN Security Council or by a State The Prosecutor specifically rejected investigating situations outside the temporal thematic or territorial limits of the Courts jurisdiction including communications on alleged aggression in Iraq With only a handful of staff the Prosecutor has announced that an examination into the Democratic Republic of Congo will be the only situation that his office will examine for the time being He anticipates having 51 staff by year-end and his office is reviewing applications for these new positions

Assembly of States Parties meets in September 2003

The Assembly of States Parties will meet in its second session from 6 to 8 of September 2003 Amongst the issues included in the provisional agenda of the meeting are the following Report on the activities of the Bureau Report on the activities of the Court Establishment of the secretariat of the Assembly of States Parties Consideration and adoption of the budget for the second financial year Adoption of the scale of assessments Consideration of audit reports Election of the Deputy Prosecutor Election of members of the Committee on Budget and Finance Election of members of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for the benefit of victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court and families of such victims Report of the special working group on the crime of aggression Establishment of an international criminal bar In addition side NGO meetings are expected The CICC is also planning the usual NGO planningstrategy meeting on September 7 2003 The CICC Secretariat hopes that there will be a strong NGO presence at the ASP from all regions of the world and will continue to provide assistance to facilitate NGO participation Accreditation requests may be sent directly to the UN or via the CICC no later than Monday August 25 2003 For more information please contact Mr Joydeep Sengupta at cicc6iccnoworg or phone +1-212-687-2863 x18 The Assembly of States Parties According to the Rome Statute each State Party shall have one representative in the Assembly who may be accompanied by alternates and advisers and each State Party shall have one vote All other States which have signed the Rome Statute or the Final Act of the Rome Conference may attend as observers The election of the Deputy Prosecutors The Rome Statute provides that the Prosecutor will be assisted by one or more Deputy Prosecutors who will be entitled to carry out any of the acts required of the Prosecutor under this Statute The Deputy Prosecutors are required to be persons of high moral character be highly competent in and have extensive practical experience in the prosecution or trial of criminal cases They must have an excellent knowledge of and be fluent in at least one of the working languages of the ICC The Deputy Prosecutors will be elected by secret ballot by an absolute majority of the members of the ASP from a list of candidates provided by the Prosecutor The Prosecutor will nominate three candidates for each position to be filled The Deputy Prosecutors will hold office for a non-renewable term of nine years In June 2003 the Prosecutor of the ICC called for applications of candidates for the position of Deputy Prosecutor (Investigations) to be the head of the Investigation Division of the Office of the Prosecutor More information on

wwwicc-cpiintphpjobsvacature_detailsphpid=77 The election of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for the benefit of victims The ASP in its resolution ICC-ASP1Res6 adopted on 9 September 2002 established a Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for the benefit of victims provided for in article 79 of the Rome Statute In its resolution ICC-ASP1Res7the ASP further established the procedure for the nomination and election of members of the Board of Directors At its 11th meeting on 22 April the Assembly decided upon the recommendation of the Bureau to open the nomination period for members of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for the benefit of victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court and the families of such victims to run from 28 April to 21 August 2003 and the Secretariat was requested to issue an official note inviting nominations ELSA International presents Report of the 2002-03 sessions of the ASP ELSA International has prepared a thorough report from the 2002-03 sessions of the ASP with updates as of June 2003 It and can be downloaded in its full 150-page version at wwwelsaorgarchiveExternal_RelationsELSA_report_ASP_2003zip A 20-page handout version can be downloaded fromwwwelsaorgarchiveExternal_RelationsELSA_report_ASP_2003_Handoutzip For more information on the meeting of the ASP email cicciccnoworg or visit httpwwwiccint or wwwiccnoworg

The Agreement on Privileges and Immunities

18 July 2003 Serbia and Montenegro becomes the 33rd State to sign the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the ICC that has been ratified by 2 states Norway and Trinidad amp Tobago The Agreement was adopted on 9 September 2002 and opened for signatures on 10 September 2002 The Agreement enters into force after 10 ratifications The Coalition for the ICC continues to appeal to all States to proceed expeditiously in signing and ratifying the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities

The International Criminal Court and the persons involved therein have been granted privileges and immunities These guarantee that States allow the Court to function in an independent and unconditional manner in accordance with the procedures as defined by the Rome Statute and the Rules on Procedure and Evidence

Article 48 of the Rome Statute provides in general for these privileges and immunities which are further defined and developed in the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities Therefore through the ratification of the Rome Statute all States Parties of the ICC are bound to respect the privileges and immunities as laid down in the Statute

The Coalition also underlines the urgent need for States to ratify and implement the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities which is a separate international treaty open for signature and ratification by all states not only by States Parties to the ICC

Only through ratification and implementation of this treaty can states guarantee that their officials are aware of the actual scope and realities of these privileges and immunities and how to apply them in concrete situations In addition to providing the Court with privileges and immunities as an international organisation the Agreement provides the following persons with privileges and immunities

bull Representatives of States participating in the Assembly and its subsidiary organs and representatives of intergovernmental organizations (Art 13) bull Representatives of States participating in the proceedings of the Court (Art 14) bull Judges Prosecutor Deputy Prosecutors and Registrar (Art 15) bull Deputy Registrar the staff of the Office of the Prosecutor and the staff of the Registry (Art 16) bull Personnel recruited locally and not otherwise covered by the present Agreement (Art 17) bull Counsel and persons assisting defence counsel (Art 18) bull Witnesses (Art 19) bull Victims (Art 20) bull Experts (Art 21) and bull Other persons required to be present at the seat of the Court (Art 22)

The Coalition continues to appeal to all States to proceed expeditiously in signing and ratifying the Agreement Two upcoming events could provide excellent opportunities for government to sign andor ratify the treaty The Second Session of the Assembly of States Parties of the Rome Statute of the ICC will be held in New York from September 8-12 This will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the adoption of the Agreement In addition the Secretary-General has announced a special treaty event Focus 2003 Treaties Against Transnational Organised Crime and Terrorism to be held from 23 to 26 September Both events will be held at United Nations Headquarters For more information about the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the ICC please visithttpwwwiccnoworgbuildingthecourtnewapichtml or contact Cecilia Nilsson CICC Legal Research Officer at cicclegal2iccnoworg

Signatures and Ratification of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the ICC

2 ratifications 33 signatures as of 18 July 2003

Ratifications Norway 10 September 2002 Trinidad e Tobago 6 Feb 2003 Signatories Argentina 7 October 2002 Austria 10 September 2002 Belgium 11 September 2002 Benin 10 September 2002 Bulgaria 2 May 2003 Costa Rica 16 September 2002 Cyprus 10 June 2003 Denmark 13 September 2002 Ecuador 26 September 2002 Estonia 27 June 2003

Finland 10 September 2002 France 10 September 2002 Germany 14 July 2003 Hungary 10 September 2002 Iceland 10 September 2002 Italy 10 September 2002 Luxembourg 10 September 2002 Madagascar 12September 2002 Mali 20 September 2002 Mongolia 4 February 2003 Namibia 10 September 2002 New Zealand 22 October 2002 Panama 14 April 2003 Peru 10 September 2002

Portugal 10 December 2002 Senegal 19 September 2002 Serbia and Montenegro 18July 03 Spain 21 April 2003 Switzerland 10 September 2002 UK 10 September 2002 Venezuela 16 July 2003 Signatory to the Rome Statute the other listed states are States Parties to the Rome Statute

NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court Become a Member of the Coalition for the ICC

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court invites you to join the Coalition by becoming a CICC member Our current membership base is a global network of around 2000 NGOs representing every region of the world working on a diverse range of themes and issues Membership is free and ensures your remaining abreast of the ICC campaign allows access to the resources within regional and national networks ICC related meetings at the national or international level proposed ICC implementation legislation and more A Membership request form is available at the last page of this issue of the European Newsletter IF YOU ARE YOU CAN AN NGO AN INDIVIDUAL bull become a member of the Coalition by sending the request available in the last page of the newsletter to cicciccnoworg bull contact other NGOs and ICC and other networks in your region and encourage other civil society organisations in your area to join the local network bull visit the Coalitionrsquos web page with valuable NGO tools at wwwiccnoworgresourcestoolsngotoolkithtml and wwwiccnoworgresourcestoolspubliceducationtoolshtml bull request information from your political representative about your countryrsquos ratification and implementation plans and share it with the Coalition bull urge your national and regional governments to ratify and implement the ICC Statute bull inform your membership about the ICC and encourage them to take action bull hold briefings for other civil society organisations and for the press to inform them about the ICC bull inform your membership about the ICC and encourage them to take action bull Subscribe to the CICC listservs by sending a blank email to icc-info-europe-subscribeyahoogroupscom (info on Europe) to icc-info-subscribeyahoogroupscom (World info) For French email to reseau-cpi-subscribeyahoogroupscom For Portuguese send an email to tpi-port-subscribeyahoogroupscom For Spanish send an email to ccpiaprodehorgpe bull link your web site to the Coalitionrsquos web site bull follow developments of the meetings of the Assembly of States Parties

bull visit the web sites of the Coalition and its members to learn more about the ICC at httpwwwiccnoworg bull visit the Coalitionrsquos webpage on how to get involved at wwwiccnoworggettinginvolvedhtml bull download public education videos to learn more and teach others at wwwiccnoworgresourcestoolspubliceducationtoolshtml

bull write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper in support of the ICC bull write a letter to political representatives calling for his or her active and public support of the ICC bull conduct a petition drive to gather signatures in support of the establishment of theICC and send the petition to your political representative bull encourage local groups with which you are involved (faith-based community action peace and other groups) to join the Coalition and become active on the ICC bull contact the Coalition to do translations of key information materials to the languages in your region bull subscribe to the Coalitionrsquos listservs (see left column) bull monitor ICC coverage in your region and send copies to the Coalition for distribution

For questions on any of these ideas on NGO involvement please send an email to Mr Joydeep Sengupta Outreach and Communications Associate at cicc6iccnoworg

Amnesty International Launches Ratification Campaign

On World Day for International Justice 17 July Amnesty International launched a universal ratification campaign aimed at lobbying for as many ratifications of the Rome Statute as possible in the next 10 years As part of this campaign each month Amnesty International will issue a public web action calling on states that have not yet ratified to do so The action includes a model letter to send to key government authorities The first action Amnesty International has issued calls on the Russian Federation to ratify The Russian Federation was chosen because of the potential impact its ratification could have in that region In the last

year the Minister of Foreign Affairs has made a number of positive statements about the ICC and ratification AI at this time is also conducting a Russia Campaign looking at a range of human rights issues in the country If you are interested in participating in this action it is available in English and Russian English httpwebamnestyorgpagesicc_ratification_russia Russian httpwwwamnestyorgrurusindex-rus Actions on further target countries will also be available from AIs ICC website wwwamnestyorgicc If you would like more information on this campaign including how you or your organisation can be involved please contact Joanna Carr (jcarramnestyorg) European Parliament debates ICC and passes Resolution with strong call for support to the ICC

At its last Plenary Session (1-5 July 2003) the European Parliament held a debate on the ICC with the EU Council and the EU Commission The discussion showed once again the firm support of the EU Institutions towards the International Criminal Court On behalf of the EU Council Mr Frattini the Italian Foreign Minister reaffirmed that the ICC will remain an essential component of the EU foreign policy and committed to update the Action Plan on the ICC in accordance with the new prescriptions of the EU Council Common Position of last June 16 2003 He insisted on the determination of the EU to defend the integrity of the Rome Statute especially from the attacks by the US with which the EU does not share the same view on the Courtrsquos role He also regretted that many countries - among them 9 European countries - have been refused further financial and military aid by the US because of their continued support to the ICC Finally he called upon all the States Parties to the Rome Statute to live up to their financial obligations and to promptly adhere to the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities Commissioner Lamy (on behalf of Mr Patten EU Commissioner for External Relations) went further on the same line and explicitly deplored the US proposed bilateral agreements as undermining the Rome Statute In that regard he welcomed the inclusion in the Common Position of a reference to the EU Guiding Principles and to the necessity for the EU and its member states to use them as a tool for protecting the integrity of the Rome Statute in third countries The commissioner also explicitly praised the NGOs which are mobilising so much energy to get the Court into being In the European Parliament speakers from all political groups built on the abovementioned concepts and commended the ICC as being the most effective instrument to restore justice and preserve peace Following the Parliament agreed to include a section on the ICC in its Resolution on the

Thessaloniki European Council 1 An excerpt of the Resolution with the section on ICC follows International Criminal Court 44 Regards the establishment of the ICC as a great step forward for the development of international law and stresses that the Rome Statute is an essential element of the values which form the basis of the EU democratic model 45 Welcomes Council Common Position 2003444CFSP of 16 June 2003(4) on the International Criminal Court whereby the Union and its Member States () shall continue as appropriate to draw the attention of third States to the Council Conclusions of 30 September 2002 on the International Criminal Court and to the EU Guiding Principles annexed thereto with regard to proposals for agreements or arrangements concerning conditions for the surrender of persons to the Court and expects Member States to respect the Common Position 46 Welcomes furthermore the Presidencys strong support for the ICC and its commitment to work actively for the universality of the Court and to contribute to its effective functioning 47 Calls upon and encourages the governments and parliaments of Member States accession states and countries associated with the EU in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership the Mercosur Andean Pact and San Joseacute process countries the countries involved in the Stability and Association Process the ACP and the ASEAN countries to refrain from concluding or ratifying any Bilateral Impunity Agreement or other similar arrangements 48 Regrets in this regard the continued opposition of the current US Administration to the ICC and regrets that it is intensifying its political and financial pressure worldwide trying to persuade State Parties and Signatory States to the Rome Statute as well as non-signatory states to enter into bilateral non-surrender agreements by threatening to suspend military and economic aid as well as other forms of assistance 49 Welcomes the Declaration by the ten accession states Bulgaria and Romania and Norway Liechtenstein and Iceland that they share the objectives of the abovementioned Common Position

1 P5_TA-PROV(2003)0320 European Parliament resolution on the Thessaloniki European Council of 19-20 June 2003 Strasbourg 2 July Available at httpwww3europarleuintomkomnsapirsocalendarAPP=PDFampTYPE=PV2ampFILE=p0030703ENpdfampLANGUE=EN

and that they will ensure that their national policies conform to this position 50 Urges the Italian Presidency to adapt and update the Action Plan adopted in May 2002 in accordance with the new Common Position in particular encourages the Presidency to include in the Action Plan the establishment of a full-time focal point within the Council Secretariat supporting and facilitating the efforts of the Presidency 51 Urges the Council and the Commission to engage in a dialogue with the US administration on all matters relating to the ICC notes with disappointment that the UN Security Council has renewed its resolution 1487 for one year and asks the Council and the Commission to make every effort to avoid any further renewal of this resolution which extends immunity to the UNs own peacekeepers OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopts Resolution on ICC

From 5 to 9 July 2003 nearly 300 Parliamentarians of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly met in Rotterdam to discuss the political economic and human rights aspects of The Role of the OSCE in the New Architecture of Europe At the end of the session the Assembly adopted a Declaration and several other documents including a resolution on the ICC This Resolution recognises that the Court is of vital importance not only for accountability and lasting justice but also for peace and security It also calls on the OSCE participating States to make their ratifications meaningful through effective national implementation laws enabling them to meet their obligations under the Rome Statute among which ldquoco-operation with and assistance to the ICC and incorporation into national laws of the most progressive definitions of all crimes under international law The adoption of such a resolution shows the significance given to the ICC as an instrument to contribute to the OSCE persistent efforts in building democracy human rights and the rule of law OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Resolution on the International Criminal Court2 1 Welcoming with great satisfaction the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a milestone in the development of an effective international criminal justice system in which there are no safe havens for those who commit the worst international crimes With the creation of the International Criminal Court genocide war crimes and crimes against humanity shall no longer go unpunished

2 The OSCE PA Resolution can be found at httpwwwosceorgdocumentspa200307495_enpdf

2 Recognizing that by providing redress and reparations for the victims and survivors of these crimes the ICC is of vital importance not only for accountability and lasting justice but also for peace and security In the present international situation the Court is needed more than ever before With the support of international key actors the Court can play a role of deterrent which may be crucial in the preservation of world peace 3 Considering that democratic States must be the most ardent supporters of the Court which represents the expression of their commitment to promote the universal values of human rights international humanitarian law and the rule of law 4 Considering that universal adherence to the Rome Statute is of crucial importance in order to enable the Court to become a truly efficient international instrument to prevent impunity and to ensure equal justice for all 5 Emphasizing that to be effective the ICC will depend not only on widespread ratification of the Rome Statute but also on states parties complying fully with their treaty obligations 6 Welcoming the ICC as a defender of the rights of those such as women and children who have often had little recourse to justice the Rome Statute being the first treaty to contain an extensive list of crimes of sexual violence 7 Welcoming the explicit reference to trafficking in women and children The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly 8 Calls on the OSCE participating States to make their ratifications meaningful through effective national implementing law that enables them to meet their principal obligations under the Rome Statute namely co-operating with and assisting the ICC which is vital to ensuring that the most serious crimes of concern to the international community no longer go unpunished 9 Calls on the participating States to look beyond the Rome Statute when incorporating the ICC crimes into national law and to incorporate the most progressive definitions of all crimes under international law whether they are found in the Rome Statute or elsewhere this applying particularly to the standard set out in the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child which establishes eighteen as the minimum age for participation in armed conflict 10 Urges the participating States to provide support and protection to victims and witnesses particularly women and children to grant special protection visas to enable threatened victims and witnesses with their families to resettle in a safe third country and to establish a trust fund for victims and their families 11 Calls on the participating States to work together for a universal accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

The Coalition Reports

EC Special Seminar with human rights NGOs Brussels 14 July 2003

The European Commission (EC) held a Special Seminar with human rights NGOs on the 14 July in Brussels The Director for Multilateral Relations and Human Rights Mrs Daniela Smadja was the chair The goal of the seminar was to meet with NGOs strengthening relations between the EC and NGOs inviting NGOs -with their expertise- to participate in this early stage in the formulation of the EC policy on human rights (through the programming document of the EIDHR 2004 and post 2004) In the morning session the participants were honored by the presence of Commissioner Patten who gave a speech on the situation of Human rights at the EC Current and future trends of Human rights agenda The Commissioner mentioned the ICC in several parts of his speech in particular referring to the EU position on bilateral agreements According to Mr Patten Democratic and human rights-based States are also more likely to take their international commitments seriously When States undertake obligations whether in the trade armaments human rights or any other field compliance should be the expectation That is one reason why the EU has invested diplomatic energy in opposing the signature of ICC bilateral immunity agreements- they could serve to undermine the Rome Statute and States parties to the ICC should not undermine the Statute by the back door3 Participants (mostly representatives from EU NGOs but also some from abroad -China Bosnia and Herzegovina Colombia Egypt Morocco Kenya Peru Russia etc) were divided into three working groups in the afternoon WG II was devoted to the strategic planning and programming of a broad range of issues international justice and impunity torture indigenous peoples minorities and racism There was no real discussion but a presentation by the NGOs present of the challenges and needs regarding each topic and of the recommendations for the EC The idea that the ICC has been established that the EU support has been fundamental but that it would be a misconception to believe that there is no further need for the EC to contribute to its effectiveness and universality was raised A list of challenges for the next years was retained by the rapporteur as well as the basic idea that the ICC must be at the centre of any discussion making sure that the EC actions match the ICC needs Mrs Smadja explained that this seminar was the first session of a series of consultation meetings with NGOs meant to involve NGOS in the

formulation of the post 2004 programming document of the EIDHR The reports of the Seminar will be available at the end of October in the EC website NGOs welcomed the seminar though also expressed some frustration for the lack of time to discuss so many serious and complex issues The idea that EC Delegations (around 120 in the world today) could enhance the Commissions Human Rights policy ensuring coherence and coordination was raised Follow up meetings including through ad hoc seminars and bilateral meetings between specific NGOs and the EC were announced

3 This speech can be found at wwweuropaeuintcommexternal_relationsnewspattensp03_364htm

Expert Meeting ldquoLegal Remedies for Victims of lsquoInternational Crimesrsquo - Fostering an EU Approach to lsquoExtraterritorial Jurisdictionrsquordquo Paris 16-17 July 2003

By Ariana Pearlroth and Seacutebastien Bourgoin An experts meeting held in Paris this month marked the start of an initiative to develop a consistent European Union (EU) approach to the repression of ldquointernational crimesrdquo committed in third countries The goal is to further the growth of a comprehensive system of international justice as envisaged in the complementarity regime of the Rome Statute Based on the premise that discrepancies among the approaches of individual Member States often result in impunity for the worldrsquos most heinous crimes including genocide crimes against humanity war crimes and torture among others the meeting sought to identify the steps to be taken in order to facilitate the development of consistent European law and practice The meeting organised by REDRESS and the FIDH gathered around 35 NGO representatives law professors practicing lawyers and EU experts Presentations included information about existing European initiatives existing procedural opportunities and hurdles within Member States and opportunities and obstacles at international courts (ICC ICJ) In discussions participants sought to identify goals on a number of issues ndash such as ldquocompeting jurisdictionsrdquo ldquoaccess to justice and executive discretionrdquo ldquonexus requirement immunities and limitation periodsrdquo ndash and debated whether it would be possible and appropriate to use existing European mutual cooperation mechanisms (Europol Eurojust etc) in the fight against the impunity of perpetrators of these crimes The final session of the meeting was dedicated to a discussion of the strategy to be developed in order to ensure that within the EU borders - Victims have access to an effective remedy - There is no safe heaven for perpetrators and Member States work to develop better cooperation among themselves A formal report on the meeting will be produced in the coming weeks A second meeting to further the goals and strategies that have been identified will be in Brussels in OctoberNovember 2003

RATIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION IN EUROPE UPDATES We welcome updates on the ratification and implementation status of the Rome Statute in Europe As far as possible we try to indicate the sources of the information unless it comes from a confidential source The lack of information on some countries by no way implies that there have been no developments in those specific countries To send updated information on the status of ratification and implementation in Europe please contact Rita Patriacutecio for Western European Central Europe and South East European States at cicceurope2iccnoworg or Luisa Mascia for Newly Independent States and Central Asian Republics at cicceurope1iccnoworg Albania Signature 18 July 1998- Ratification 31 Jan 03 The Albanian Parliament ratified the Rome Statute for the ICC on the 23 of December 2002The Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepared the instrument of ratification and deposited it on the 31 January 2003 The Albanian Constitutional Court had concluded in a verdict from the 23rd of September 2002 that the Statute did not contradict the Constitution Therefore there were no constitutional obstacles to its ratification The issues that raised constitutional problems were-The transferability of the judicial powerrsquo competences to international bodies- Immunity from criminal prosecution provided by Albanian Law for several official capacities - The ICC not abiding the principle ne bis in idem in certain cases Source Elsa Ballauri Albanian Human Rights Group Last revised January 2003 Andorra Signature 18 July 1998ndashRatification 30 April 01 Armenia Signature 1 Oct 1999 Substantive Criminal Law A new criminal code has been drafted the special part includes a new section (ldquoCrimes against the world and safetyrdquo) defining genocide crimes against humanity and crimes against humanity The general part of the draft rules the non-applicability of statutory limitations to those crimes The new criminal code entered into force on 1 August 2003Last revised August 2003 Austria Signature 7 Oct 1998 ndash Ratification 28 Dec 2000 Implementing legislation is under discussion Cooperation On 10 July 2002 the Austrian Parliament unanimously approved the Law on Cooperation with the ICC It provides the legal basis for complying with requests of the ICC for the surrender of persons or for other forms of assistance as well as for accepting convicted persons for the purpose of enforcement of the sentence imposed by the Court After parliamentary approval the ratification bill was signed by the Federal President and entered into force on 1 October 2002 (Austrian Federal Law Gazette I n1352) Substantive Criminal Law The Ministry of Justice is currently considering the amendment of the Austrian Penal Code in

order to complement it with the crimes falling under the Court jurisdiction which are not already covered by the mentioned Code Last revised January 2003 Azerbaijan At the EU- Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (PCC) held in Baku on 28-29 April 2003 Among other subjects the PCC underlined the importance of Azerbaijan signing and ratifying the Statute of the ICC Substantive Criminal Law A new Criminal Code entered into force on the 1st of September 2000 and a Criminal Procedural Code has been adopted The Criminal Code provides for criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes reflecting the definitions of the Rome Statute Cooperation The Law on Extradition of Criminals of 15 May 2001 enables the surrender to the ICC The process of ratification is impeded by constitutional obstacles eg particularly by immunity of State officials and possibility of granting pardon Other issues may arise eg those connected with the requirement to trial by jury in the Criminal Procedural Code Source Progress Report by Azerbaijan Council of Europe Strasbourg 11 July 2001 and Mr Eldar Zeynalov from the Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan Last revised May 2003 Belarus Belarus has not signed the Rome Statute According to a delegate of the UN Mission present at the IX PrepCom Belarus is analysing its national legislation in order to bring it into compliance with the Rome Statute No recent news on the ratification process Last revised May 2002 Belgium Signature 10 Sept 1998-Ratification 28 June 00 Draft Law on Cooperation Adopted by the Council of Ministers on January 25th 2002 The advice of the Conseil drsquoEtat will be requested based on the emergency procedure and will be sent to Parliament It can be found at wwwiccnoworgresourcestoolsratimptoolkitnationalregionaltoolslegislationdebatesBelgiumProvisionalFrenpdf Universal Jurisdiction Following a number of complaints lodged against American military and political leaders in respect of the war in Iraq Belgium had come under diplomatic pressure from the USA to change its legislation and abandon its adherence to a universal jurisdiction independent with any link with Belgium The new legislation

provides for a limited form of extraterritorial jurisdiction ie only when the perpetrator or the victim is Belgian or resides in Belgium in addition it limits the direct access of victims to justice (through the lsquoconstitution de partie civilersquo) only to cases where the perpetrator is Belgian or resides in Belgium In all other cases the decision to prosecute is left to Prosecutorial discretion Last revised July 2003 Bosnia and Herzegovina Signature 17 July 2000-Ratification 11 April 02 Substantive Criminal Law The Office of the High Representative (OHR) of Bosnia and Herzegovina enacted a new Criminal Code and a new Criminal Procedural Code on the 24th January 2003 Both entered into force on the 1st of March 2003 These codes are part of the overall reform of the judiciary in Bosnia and Herzegovina that comprises a new State Ministry of Justice a State Court with a special war crimes department and a State Prosecutor with competence for war crimes genocide and crimes against humanity For the definitions of these crimes in the new Criminal Code see Chapter XVII on Crimes against Humanity and Values Protected by International Law- arts 171-203 For a copy of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedural Code in English contactcicceurope2iccnoworg Last revised April 2003 Bulgaria Signature 11 Feb1999-Ratification 11 April 2002 A new Criminal Procedural Code to regulate Cooperation with ICC and a Criminal Code are expected by the end of 2004 There is no legal disposition foreseeing cooperation with the ICC Substantive criminal law Regarding the implementation of the crimes in the Rome Statute the Criminal Code does not foresee crimes against humanity while its definition of ldquocrimes against the laws and customs of conducting warrdquo under Chapter XIV of the Bulgarian Criminal Code does not cover all situations of Article 8 of the RS The new Criminal Code will address discrepancies between the Criminal Code presently in force and the Rome Statute Source Conference ICC-Implementation in Central and Eastern Europe Bucharest 9-11 May 2003 APIC Signature on the 2 May 2003 Last revised May 2003 Croatia Signature 12 Oct1998-Ratification 21 May 2001 A special Chamber will be responsible for cooperation with the ICC The Government has drafted a proposal implementing the Rome Statute that is to be sent to the Parliament in late June early July Last revised June 2003 Cyprus Signature 15 Oct 1998-Ratification 7 March 02

There were no major obstacles to ratification and no need to amend the Constitution APIC Signed on 10 June 2003 Last revised June 2003 Czech Republic Signature 13 April 1999 Ratification After the rejection by the Czech Parliament of the amendments to the Constitution and Criminal Code necessary for ratification in September 2001 the Czech government decided to establish a working group to prepare another bill amending the Constitution and the Bill of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms The Government wishes to submit the request for ratification as soon as the parliament passes the constitutional amendment According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a new proposal for ratification is being prepared It will be first submitted to the Government and then to the Parliament The Ministry of Justice is preparing draft amendments to Czech Criminal Proceedings concerning cooperation with international criminal courts and ad hoc tribunals Substantive Criminal Law A draft criminal code is also being prepared Last revised February 2003 Denmark Signature 25 Sept 1998ndash Ratific 21 June 2001 On 3 May 2001 the Danish Parliament (ldquoFolketingetrdquo) adopted the Danish Act on The International Criminal Court APIC Signature on the 13 September 2002 Last revised September 2002 Estonia Signature 27 Dec 1999ndashRatification 30 Jan 2002 On 5 December 2001 the Parliament of Estonia adopted the Rome Statute Ratification Act Concurrently amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure were approved in order to implement the Statute and to ensure proper co-operation with the Court when the Rome Statute enters into force Two Acts (ldquothe Ratification Actrdquo and ldquothe ICC Procedure Actrdquo) contain minimal implementing provisions and were enacted in the end of 2001 Substantive Criminal Law A Penal Code of 6 June 2001 ndash to enter into force late 2002- replaces the Criminal Code and incorporates many ICC crimes Source Human Rights Watch APIC Signature on 27 June 2003Revised June 2003 Finland Signature 7 Oct 1998 ndash Ratification 29 Dec 2000 Two Implementing Acts were enacted on 28 December 2000 to enter into force on the 1st July 2002 Act No 12842000 ldquoThe Cooperation Actrdquo and Act No 12852000- lsquothe Act on Amendment of the Penal Code ICC Crimes Actrdquo These Acts and a National Progress Report and translation of the Rome Statute in Finnish are available at the Council of Europes websitehttplegalcoeinticcdocsConsult_ICC(2001)ConsultICC(2001)13Epdf APIC Signature on the 10 September 2002 Last revised June 2002

France Signature 18 July 1998 -Ratification 9 June 2000 The French Parliament adopted on February 19th the Bill on Cooperation with the ICC (Law n 2002-268) This Law an initiative of Senator Badinter addresses only procedural issues it allows France to cooperate with the ICC in matters concerning arrest transfer execution of prison sentences and reparation orders The full text can be found at httpwwwlegifrancegouvfrWAspadUnTexteDeJorfnumjo=JUSX0205311L Substantive criminal law the Ministry of Justice prepared a draft law on substantive adaptation of the Rome Statute The draft introduces in the French legislation the definition of war crimes and extends the definition of crimes against humanity moreover the crime of ldquoapartheidrdquo should be introduced under the notion of ldquosegregation of an ethnic grouprdquo the crimes of forced pregnancy and sterilisation will also be included The draft was submitted by the Ministry of Justice to the members of the Commission Nationale Consultative des droits de lrsquohomme (CNCDH) which released its opinion on 15 May 2003 The following shortcomings were identified 1) Art 27 of the Rome Statute - on the irrelevance of official capacities - still needs to be incorporated into French national legislation 2) War crimes are not subject to the same legal regime as genocide and crimes against humanity being therefore subject to status of limitations 3) The principle of victims equal access to justice is not fully retained whereby the Public Prosecutor would be the only person entitled to initiate a proceeding when the crime is committed abroad and 4) The scope of universal jurisdiction has been limited with regard to non-States Parties The draft was expected to be debated within the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence by the summer of 2003 and should be submitted to the Parliament for scrutiny at fall of this year France is the only European country that decided to exclude prosecution of French citizens for war crimes from the jurisdiction of the Court for seven years by making a reservation under article 124 of the Rome Statute Source Jeanne Sulzer FIDH (jsulzerfidhorg) Last revised June 2003 FYR of Macedonia Signature 7 Oct 1998ndashRatification 6 March 2002 Cooperation and Substantive Criminal Law A Law on Cooperation with the ICC and amendments to the Criminal Code are being considered Source Conference ICC-Implementation in Central and Eastern Europe Bucharest 9-11 May 2003 Revised May 2003 Germany Signature 10 Dec 1998ndashRatification 11 Dec00 Substantive Criminal Law The Bundestag (Parliament) approved last 25 April by unanimity the Act to introduce a Code of Crimes

against International Law (CCAIL) (consolidating and completing the catalogue of criminal offences under German domestic law paralleling the offences under the Rome Statute) Also the Act on implementing legislation (The Code on Execution of the Rome Statute or the ldquoCooperation Coderdquo that regulates the details of co operation between German courts and authorities and the ICC) was approved Both are in force since the 1st July 2002 Now German public prosecutors are allowed to investigate war crimes genocide and crimes against humanity regardless of whom where when or against whom these crimes were committed The German law can be found in German French English Spanish Russian and Arabic at wwwiuscrimmpgdeforschonline_pubhtmllegaltext Still two amendments are foreseen in order to concentrate the first-instance jurisdiction for crimes against international law at the Higher Regional Courts (Oberlandsgericht) and to confer the competence of prosecution of those crimes to the federal attorney general The provisions concerned are art 96 of the German constitution and those of the Courts Constitution Act APIC On 14 July 2003 Germany became the 31st State to sign the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the ICC Source International Campaign Against Impunity Last revised July 2003 Georgia Signature 18 July 1998 Ratification On July 16 on the instruction of the President the Georgian Parliament ratified by unanimity the Rome Statute The instrument of ratification will enter into force 60 days after the promulgation and still needs to be formally deposited at the UN headquarters in NY A Working Group (activated by the Ministry of Justice) finished a draft legislative package for ratification and implementation in early April which was fist adopted by the inter-ministerial commission then submitted to the Parliament On 14 August the Assembly passed a legislative package including 1) bill on cooperation with the ICC 2) Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure 3) Amendments to the Criminal Code 4) Amendments to the law on custody 5) Amendments to the law on executive actions Last revised August 2003 Greece Signature 18 July 1998-Ratific 15 May 2002 Implementing legislation according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs some efforts are being undertaken Last revised May 2002 Holy See A strong endorsement to the ICC by the Pope would be welcome including a call to the USA Catholic Church to support this newly created institution No recent news

Hungary Signature 15 Dec 1998-Ratification 30 Nov 2001 The Ministry of Justice has put forward a bill which would modify amongst others Art 32 of the Constitution by adding an additional paragraph 4 saying that ldquothe immunity of the President of the Republic does not exclude his responsibility for crimes under the jurisdiction of and before a permanent international court established by an international treatyrdquo A draft law on Public Law Statutory Amendments Necessary with Respect to the Promulgation of the Statute of the International Criminal Court is being circulated between the ministries The last three articles of this bill contain additional rules which are deemed necessary to facilitate the basic enforcement and application of the RS in Hungary Source Conference ICC-Implementation in Central and Eastern Europe Bucharest 9-11 May 2003 Last revised May 2003 Iceland Signature 26 August 1998-Ratific 25 May 2000 In autumn 2002 implementing legislation was submitted to Parliament for approval APIC Signature on 10 September 2002 Last revised September 2002 Ireland Signature 7 Oct 1998- Ratification 11 April 2002 On 11 August the Minister of Justice published a comprehensive piece of legislation allowing Irish courts to investigate prosecute and punish individuals who commit genocide war crimes and CaH The bill still needs to pass through both houses of the Oireachtas Last revised August 2003 Italy Signature 18 July 1998 ndash Ratific 26 July 1999 In May 2002 M Giovanni Kessler (from the main Italian leftwing party) and other members of the Italian Parliament submitted to the Parliament the proposal of law n 2724 on ldquoRules for the implementation of the internal system to the Statute of the International Criminal Courtrdquo This proposal contemplates both substantial adaptation to the Rome Statute and law on cooperation with the ICC therefore creating a whole ldquointernational criminal coderdquo For the Italian text please visit the webpage httpwwwcamerait_datileg14lavoristampatisk3000articola2724htm An ad hoc interdepartmental commission was set up within the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs in order to continue preparing the necessary draft implementing legislation both on cooperation and substantive issues The works of the Commission are slow and important substantive issues still need to be addressed Once the Commission finalises its preparatory works the Ministry of Justice will decide what to include in a draft law to be submitted to the government

Concerning war crimes there is no news from the Ministry of Defence where an ad hoc Commission is working on the reform of the military code of war APIC Signature on 10 September 2002 Revised April 2003 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan has not signed the Rome Statute Kazakh MP Khamit Amerguzhin has recently stated that Kazakhstan has a positive approach towards the ICC He also stated that Kazakhstan needs to adapt its legal order to the Rome Statute and that they are working on legislation The amendment of the Constitution entails a very complicated process and should be avoided The government expressed an interest in technical assistance to complete ratification and implementation Last revised February 2003 Kyrgyzstan Signature 9 December 1998 Obstacles to ratification According to officials from the Foreign Affairs Ministry the only obstacle towards ratification is of financial nature when an international treaty is sent to the Parliament for ratification the Parliament has to be informed about the financial consequences of becoming the state party Generally it is very reluctant to ratify any new international agreement costing money International treaties are directly applicable Implementing legislation will be prepared after ratification The government is in the process of analysing the legislation and will be cooperating closely with NGOs on the issue since the President of the Republic has issued an order that state organs have to cooperate with NGOs on HR issues Red Crescent has played very important role in drafting some of legislation connected with incorporating the IHL norms into the domestic legislation They translated the Geneva Conventions into Kyrgyz and were initiators for the creation of commission for implementation of the IHL norms Source Dean Zagorac member of the Working Group on Impunity and Universal Jurisdiction 13 July 2002 Last revised September 2002 Latvia Signature 22 April 1999-Ratification 28 June 2002 Liechtenstein Signature 18 July 1998 ndash Ratification 2 Oct 2001 Lithuania Signature 10 December 1998-Ratific12 May 03 Lithuania deposited its instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC thereby becoming the 90th State Party to the treaty A new Criminal Code and Criminal Procedural Code have been endorsed and entered into force on 1 May 2003 Some amendments are necessary to make the codes fully compliant with the Rome Statute Last revised June 2003

Luxembourg Signature 13 Oct 1998-Ratification 8 Sept 2000 APIC Signature on 10 September 2002 Malta Signature 17 July 1998-Ratification 29 Nov 2002 In order to implement the Rome Statute an ICC Act passed in Parliament last November but it has not yet come into force The Minister for Justice in exercise of powers granted in the Act shall issue regulations to bring the Act into force This Act may be found at wwwjusticegovmtdir2-lawstoppageasp The ICC Act covers cooperation and substantive criminal law through amendments to the Criminal Code that introduce the crimes in the Rome Statute included are provisions on Malta receiving prisoners from the ICC the arrest and detention warrants for arresting suspects on Maltese territory are also covered Moreover crimes against the administration of justice are now foreseen in the Maltese law Source Neil Falzon Last revised January 2003 Moldova Signature 8 Sept 2000 The Chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Parliament of Moldova recently announced that his country would soon ratify the Rome Statute Last revised February 2003 Monaco Signature 18 July 1998 In order to ratify the Statute Monaco will need to amend the Constitution in relation to the executive powers of the Royal Family A study on the internal implications of ratification is taking place Last revised August 2002 The Netherlands Signature 18 July 1998-Ratification 17 July 01 Implementation The Upper House approved on the 20th June 2002 the bills implementing the Rome Statute in the Netherlands These bills are Cooperation the ICC Implementation Act that entered into force on the 1 July 2002 and the associated Amendment Act in force since the 8 August 2002 The Implementation Act gives the Dutch Government a statutory basis for transferring suspects to the ICC protecting and guarding them and transporting them to the Court it can also furnish the ICC with legal assistance Substantive Criminal Law The International Crimes Act On the 17th June the Dutch Senate passed the International Crimes Act Before the Act may enter into force the Prosecutors-General will first have to adopt a Directive for the prosecution This is expected to occur in the next few months The maximum sentence will be life or thirty years Genocide crimes against humanity war crimes and torture are now brought under one bill Crimes against humanity had not been punishable in The Netherlands before The other crimes were already punishable

under Dutch law but were spread over various laws The proposed bill maintained the immunity from prosecution for head of state and diplomats This Bill had been introduced in Parliament on 19 April 2002 and was adopted unanimously by the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on 18 December 2002 It was adopted with one amendment raising the maximum temporary punishment from 20 (the normal standard under NL law) to 30 years (the RS maximum) Life imprisonment will remain to be possible as previously in the Dutch law For the texts of the laws above please visit wwwminbuzanldefaultaspCMS_ITEM=141EF85F8B6A40D49F4592D4E40E6D4FX3X61608X9 Last revised June 2003 Norway Signature 28 August 1998-Ratification 16 Feb00 Substantive Criminal law A Permanent Commission for Penal Law submitted its reports and a proposal to include the crimes in the Rome Statute in the Norwegian Penal Code The Government will give high priority to this proposal Cooperation Norway has a law of cooperation and enforcement of sentences since the 15 June 2001 (Act No 65 of 2001) APIC Ratified on the 10th of September 2002 Last revised May 2002 Poland Signature 9 April 1999ndashRatification 13 Nov 2001 Cooperation Poland has enacted a new Code of Criminal Procedure It was issued on 10th of January 2003 and will come into force on July the 1st Art 615 sect3 was amended and sect4-6 were added It regulates the co-operation with all the existing international criminal tribunals including the ICC The Code stipulates the respective application of the provisions concerning the co-operation with states in relations with international tribunals and their bodies A draft code on cooperation with the ICC has been prepared and is subject to consultations Substantive criminal law provisions are under analysis Source Conference ICC-Implementation in Central and Eastern Europe Bucharest 9-11 May 2003Last revised June 2003 Portugal Signature 7 Oct 1998-Ratific 5 February 2002 Substantive Criminal Law A Commission to draft the necessary implementing legislation (amendments to the Criminal Code and to the Criminal Procedural Code) was created in September 2002 and has concluded its work and its proposal The Governmentsrsquo Law proposal regarding violations of International Humanitarian Law was approved by the Council of Ministers on the 20th May 2003 and is now at the Parliament at the Commission of Constitutional Affairs Itrsquos debate has not yet been scheduled Some key points comprised by the proposal are

- Universal Jurisdiction The Law is applicable to facts occurred outside the national territory as long as the agent is found in Portugal and can not be extradited No statute of limitations Definitions (and penalties) of crime of genocide crimes against humanity war crimes incitement to war and recruitment of mercenaries-Definition of International Armed Conflict and Non International Armed Conflict- Definition of children human beings aged less than 18 The law proposal is available at wwwparlamentoptlegisinic_legis200305200910072205 Two other proposals have been presented to the Parliament with amendments to the Criminal Code These proposals have been submitted by the Party of the Social Democrats and by the Communist Party For the text of the Social Democrat proposal please visit wwwparlamentoptlegisinic_legis200302060910224109 For the Communist proposal please visit wwwparlamentoptlegisinic_legis200303180910262106 APIC Signature on the 10th December 2002 Last revised June 2003 Romania Signature 7 July 1999ndashRatification 11 April 2002 According to the Romanian Delegate present at the X PrepCom implementing legislation concerning cooperation with the Court had been adopted In the fall a working group was foreseen to work on the definition of crimes Last revised October 2002 Russian Federation Signature 13 Sept 2000 A comparative study of national legislation and provisions of the Rome Statute has been conducted The problems raised were i Constitutional issues ii Material criminal law iii Cooperation with the ICC For surrender and extradition a legal study concluded that no constitutional amendments are required The Criminal Code must be adapted to the Rome Statute and parts of the Criminal Procedural Code must be reviewed In February 2003 a conference on ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute took place in the Moscow Duma Many MPs took the floor in favour of the earliest ratification possible of the RS by Russia According to a recent declaration of an official at the MFA the priority is to bring Russian legislation into conformity with the provisions of the Rome Statuteotherwise Russia will not be able to implement it Most of the necessary amendments concern the Russian criminal code Proposals for amendments should be sent soon to the Presidential Administration along with a formal proposal to launch the ratification of the Rome Statute Once the President has reviewed the proposals they will be sent to the Duma where they will be submitted to several committees (International Affairs Committee Legal Affairs Committee Security Committee)

The timeframe is very uncertain also due to the upcoming elections in the Duma foreseen in December this year Last revised July 2003 San Marino Signature 18 July 1998 ndash Ratification 13 May 1999 Serbia and Montenegro Signature 19 December 2000 ndashRatificSept 6 2001 On 5 February 2003 the State of Serbia and the State of Montenegro proclaimed the coming into force (with immediate effect) of the Constitutional Charter of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro Following this changes jurisdiction in the area of the Criminal substantive and procedure law belongs to the Republics which are members of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro APIC Signature on the 18 July 2003 Serbia Cooperation Amendments to the Law on Criminal Procedure have been made eg on the possibility of surrendering domestic citizens to a ldquorecognised international courtrdquo A legislative commission designed to draft a law on cooperation is about to be organised Substantive Criminal Law According to B92 News on July 2 the Serbian Parliament approved war crimes legislation enabling local prosecutions of war crimes suspects According to this media report the bill envisages the forming of a special war crimes prosecution office to cover the whole of Serbia and dedicated detention centres Montenegro Montenegro has started with the harmonisation process of legislation with the Rome Statute In the end of 2002 working groups were formed to draft substantive criminal law and procedure Criminal Law regarding also Cooperation with the ICC Source Conference ICC-Implementation in Central and Eastern Europe Bucharest 9-11 May 2003Revised July 2003 Kosovo UNMIK The United Nations Interim Administration for Kosovo has drafted a Criminal Code and a Criminal Procedural Code Substantive Criminal Law The Criminal Code defines war crimes and introduces new offences such as crimes against humanity On 28 March 2003the SRSG presented these draft Codes to Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi for consideration by the Government and the Assembly of Kosovo These texts are still in draft form and under active consideration Both Codes incorporate the criminal offences defined in international conventions including the Rome Statute for the ICC UNMIK called the two codes temporary in order not to prejudice the Kosova status Source KosovaLive web site Pristina in English 1 Apr 03 Revised April 2003 Slovakia Signature 23 Dec 1998- Ratification 11 April 2002 Substantive criminal law On 19 June 2002 the Slovak Parliament passed the Law No 4212002

amending the Penal Code This amendment has become effective as of the 1st September 2002 The following provisions have been introduced to the Penal Code with the aim to implement the Rome Statute 1 Crimes Introduction of crimes against humanity 2 Acting under lawful orders does not constitute a full defence in case of genocide and crimes against humanity (sect 15a) 3 Universal jurisdiction introduced also for the crimes against humanity (for war crimes and crime of genocide the universal jurisdiction already existed) (sect19) 4 The possibility of imposing the sentence of life imprisonment under certain conditions in case of crime against humanity has been introduced (sect 29 par3) 5 The responsibility of military commander (including should have known responsibility) and other superior responsibility for war crimes crimes against humanity and crime of genocide has been introduced to the Chapter X (Chapter X contains crimes under international law) (sect 265a) The definition of internal armed conflict has been specified in this context The Law No 2532001 Coll of Laws (effective as of 1st August 2001) also amended the Penal Code This law enables to extradite or surrender the citizen of the Slovak Republic if such an obligation exists stemming from the international treaty or the binding decision of the international organization Cooperation The following amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No 4222002 Coll of Laws) has been passed on 20 June 2002 (effective as of 1st October 2002)The new provision (sect 374) of the CCP contains a specific reference to the ICC established under international treaty or established under the decision of the international organization which is binding for the Slovak Republic If there is a request for cooperation of the ICC the provisions of the respective Chapter on Cooperation with Foreign Authorities are applicable for such request taking into account that Rome Statute takes precedence over law There is an ongoing process of preparing a recodification of substantive and procedural penal law new drafts of the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure is under discussion Source Conference ICC-Implementation in Central and Eastern Europe Bucharest 9-11 May 2003Revised May 2003 Slovenia Signature 7 Oct 1998 ndash Ratification 31 Dec 2001 Law of Cooperation with the ICC Passed by the Parliament on the 25th of October 2002 It is published in the Official Gazette Substantive Criminal Law The Criminal Code comprises some crimes of the Rome Statute but not all There is a Draft Project at the Government to amend the Criminal Code but it has not yet been sent to Parliament

APIC The Slovenian government decided on the 17th of July to sign the APIC and authorised the Slovenian ambassador to the UN in NY to that effect The deposit of the instrument of ratification should occur soon after signature after the summer recess Source Dean Zagorac AI-Slovenia Last revised July 2003 Spain Signature 18 July 1998ndashRatification 25 Oct 2000 Cooperation The Government adopted a draft law on cooperation and has called for a special parliamentary session which should take place after the summer recess The law is called ldquoProyecto de Ley 121000156 Orgaacutenica de Cooperacioacuten con la Corte Penal Internacionalrdquo Substantive criminal law The government has engaged in a legislative campaign to modify the penal code in particular to include the crimes under the Rome Statute and to rise the maximum term of imprisonment from the current 30 years to 40 years for the worst crimes such as terrorism (namely ETA) APIC Signature on the 21st April 2003 Last revised July 2003 Sweden Signature 7 Oct 1999- Ratification 28 June 2001 Cooperation On the 25th of April 2002 the Swedish Parliament adopted the new Act on Cooperation with the International Criminal Court It covers arrest and surrender to the Court other forms of Cooperation and enforcement of sentences and other decisions It entered into force on the 1st of July 2002 and can be found in draft form and in Swedish at httpjustitieregeringensepropositionermmpropositionerpdfp200102_88pdf Substantive Criminal Law The Commission in charge of revising the criminal code for the implementation of international crimes and jurisdiction over such crimes submitted its report on the 31st October 2002 Swedish Amnesty International lawyersrsquo group who has been very involved in this process points out the major considerations Sweden has not changed its immunity regulations which are not in accordance with the RS The Constitution must be amended but that will happen only in 2006 with the next elections When Sweden ratified the Statute the government stated that it might not be necessary to change the immunity regulations since it would be unlikely that Swedish members of government would commit crimes against the statute AI Sweden is urging for the necessary changes There is one inquiry about penalising crimes against the Courts jurisdiction a memorandum is expected There is a memorandum about the necessary changes in the Swedish Penal Code and Procedural Code (new crimes universal jurisdiction etc) When this work started last autumn NGOs were invited to a meeting at the Ministry of Justice to give their comments and in-put The inquiry published its report on 8 November and until April 2003 NGOs will have

the opportunity to study and comment on it The report is published with a summary in English (page 21) at httpjustitieregeringensepropositionermmsoupdfsou2002_98apdf Source Swedish Amnestys lawyers group Revised December 2002 Switzerland Signature 18July 1998 ndash 12 Oct 2001 Cooperation On the 21st June 2001 Switzerland adopted a Federal Law of Cooperation with the ICC A separate law implemented Art 70 of the Rome Statute In order to establish effective cooperation a central service has been created under the Federal Justice Office It is competent to deal with ICC demands eg on transfer of individuals proof and audition of suspects This office also decides when collaboration is admissible order the necessary measures and demand a federal authority or Canton to execute the request Substantive Criminal law the interdepartmental working group headed by the Federal Office of Justice is continuing its work The main focus is on revising provisions of the general part of the Swiss penal code and penal military code The public consultation procedure for these legislative measures is due to begin during the coming year (springsummer 2004) Source Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police APIC Signature in the 10th September 2002 Last revised August 2003 Tajikistan Signature 30 Nov 1998-Ratification 5 May 2000 In occasion of a conference organised in the Russian Duma (Moscow) in February 2003 Tajik MP Faizullo Amiraliev representative from the Committee on Constitution Law and Human Rights welcomed the Governmentrsquos decision to establish a special Committee to draft ICC-related legislation Revised February 2003 Turkey According to the Turkish Minister of Justice Mr Cemil Cicek in a statement at the Turkish Parliament on the 19th February 2003 the Turkish Criminal Code and the Military Criminal Code do not foresee the crimes in the Rome Statute According to the Minister a detailed amendment of the two codes is being planned and the signature of the Rome Statute should take place after it For the full statement in Turkish please

visitwwwtbmmgovtrdevelopowatutanak_gbirlesim_baslangicP4=8605ampP5=Bamppage1=7amppage2=7 Source Amnesty International- Turkey Revised February 2003 Turkmenistan Turkmenistan did not sign the RS No recent news Ukraine Signature 20 Jan 2000 The draft law on constitutional amendments is currently under scrutiny of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine It was prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice and presented to the Supreme Court by the Presidential administration Once the Constitutional Court rules that the proposed amendments do not restrict the rights and freedoms of Ukrainian nationals the draft will be submitted to the Parliament for approval This would be the only way for Ukraine to be able to ratify the Rome Statute according to the Constitutional Courts opinion on the constitutional compatibility (that followed a request by the President) Ratification is expected in 2003 Source Natalia Dulnyeva Ukrainian Association of Amnesty International Last revised January 2003 United Kingdom Signature 30 Nov 1998 ndash 4 Oct 2001 The ICC Act 2001 allowing ratification incorporates into domestic law the offences in the ICC Statute and makes provision for them to be dealt with domestically in the Crown Court The Act makes provision for the arrest and surrender of persons in the UK wanted by the ICC and for the serving of custodial sentences in the UK of persons convicted by the Court APIC Signature in the 10th September 2002 Uzbekistan Signature 20 Dec 2000 ICC ratification has not been included in the political agenda for 2002 Source Nozima Kamalova Legal Aid Society Acronyms APIC Agreement on Privileges and Immunities ICC International Criminal Court RS Rome Statute

STATES PARTIES to the Rome Statute of the ICC BY REGION 91 Ratifications as of 14 July 2003

Region Date of Ratification Accession AFRICA (22 STATES PARTIES) Benin 22 January 2002 Botswana 8 September 2000 Central African Rep 3 October 2001 Dem Rep of Congo 11 April 2002 Djibouti 5 November 2002 Gabon 20 September 2000 Gambia 28 June 2002 Ghana 20 December 1999 Guinea 14 July 2003 Lesotho 6 September 2000 Malawi 19 September 2002 Mali 16 August 2000 Mauritius 5 March 2002 Namibia 25 June 2002 Niger 11 April 2002 Nigeria 27 September 2001 Senegal 2 February 1999 Sierra Leone 15 September 2000 South Africa 27 November 2000 Tanzania 20 August 2002 Uganda 14 June 2002 Zambia 13 November 2002 AMERICAS (19 STATES PARTIES) Antigua amp Barbuda 18 June 2001 Argentina 8 February 2001 Belize 5 April 2000 Barbados 10 December 2002 Bolivia 27 June 2002 Brazil 20 June 2002 Canada 7 July 2000 Colombia 5 August 2002 Costa Rica 7 June 2001 Dominica 12 February 2001 Ecuador 5 February 2002 Honduras 1 July 2002 Panama 21 March 2002 Paraguay 14 May 2001 Peru 10 November 2001 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3 December 2002 Trinidad amp Tobago 6 April 1999 Uruguay 28 June 2002 Venezuela 7 June 2000 ASIAPACIFIC ISLANDS (12 STATES PARTIES) Afghanistan 10 February 2003 Australia 1 July 2002

Cambodia 11 April 2002 East Timor 6 September 2002 Fiji 29 November 1999 Marshall Islands 7 December 2000 Mongolia 11 April 2002 Nauru 12 November 2001 New Zealand 7 September 2000 Rep of Korea 13 November 2002 Samoa 16 September 2002 Tajikistan 5 May 2000 EUROPE (37 STATES PARTIES) Albania 31 January 2003 Andorra 30 April 2001 Austria 28 December 2000 Belgium 28 June 2000 Bosnia-Herzegovina 11 April 2002 Bulgaria 11 April 2002 Croatia 21 May 2001 Cyprus 7 March 2002 Denmark 21 June 2001 Estonia 30 January 2002 Finland 29 December 2000 France 9 June 2000 Germany 11 December 2000 Greece 15 May 2002 Hungary 30 November 2001 Iceland 25 May 2000 Ireland 11 April 2002 Italy 26 July 1999 Latvia 28 June 2002 Liechtenstein 2 October 2001 Lithuania 12 May 2003 Luxembourg 8 September 2000 Macedonia FYR 6 March 2002 Malta 29 November 2002 Netherlands 17 July 2001 Norway 16 February 2000 Poland 12 November 2001 Portugal 5 February 2002 Romania 11 April 2002 San Marino 13 May 1999 Serbia and Montenegro 6 September 2001 Slovakia 11 April 2002 Slovenia 31 December 2001 Spain 24 October 2000 Sweden 28 June 2001 Switzerland 12 October 2001 United Kingdom 4 October 2001 N AFRICA MIDDLE EAST (1 STATE PARTY) Jordan 11 April 2002

Note The regional groupings used in this document are based on the UN geographical regions (as published by the UN Statistics Division) and have been slightly modified by the CICC

CALENDAR OF EVENTS ON THE ICC

Conferences in 2003

JULY Swearing in ceremony of the Mr Bruno Cathala Registrar of the ICC The Hague 4 July Mr Bruno Cathala (France) was elected on the 24 June 2003 Registrar of the International Criminal Court by an absolute majority of the judges meeting in plenary session He will hold office for a term of five years

EU Human Rights Seminar Brussels 14 July See above in ldquoCoalition reportsrdquo

Legal remedies for victims of lsquoInternational Crimesrsquo ndash Fostering a EU approach to extraterritorial jurisdiction Paris 16-17 July See above in ldquoCoalition Reportsrdquo

World Day for International Justice 17 July No Peace Without Justice together with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has organised an event on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the ICC For more information please contact Elio Polizzotto at eliopolizzottoyahoocom

AUGUST Assembly of States Partiesrsquo third resumed session 4-8 August New York The Committee on Budget and Finance of the Assembly of State Parties will meet from 4 to 8 August at the UN headquarters in New York For more information please visit httpwwwunorglawiccaspaspfrahtm

SEPTEMBER Second Meeting of the Assembly of States Parties 8-12 September New York The second session of the Assembly of State Parties will be held from 8 to 12 September at the UN headquarters in New York On the agenda is the election of Assembly officers and the adoption of a second year budget as well as the discussion of many policy issues For more information please visit httpwwwunorglawiccaspaspfrahtm

Post-conflict justice what lessons for the future West Sussex 15-17 September The conference will focus on the lessons that can be learned from the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and how does the establishment of the International Criminal Court affect the possible creation of future ad hoc tribunals The event is organised by Wilton Park wwwwiltonparkorguk

The implications of the ratification of the Rome Statute in the domestic legal order or member states Strasbourg 17 September The ad hoc Committee of Legal advisers on the International Public Law (CADHI) of the Council of Europe will hold a third multilateral consultation meeting on the ICC The CADHI gathers the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of its member States of the Council of Europe as well as a significant number of observer States and Organisations Mr Philippe KIRSCH President of the ICC will be

addressing the 26th meeting of the CAHDI and discuss developments concerning the ICC The Council of Europe held already 2 consultations meetings on the ICC respectively in 2000 and 2001 To read more about CADHI please visit httpwwwcoeintTELegal_affairsLegal_co-operationPublic_international_law

European Commissionrsquos Experts Seminar on ICC Naples Italy 26-27 September The European Commission- Europeaid will organise in Naples an Experts Seminar on the ICC For more information please contact Franck-OlivierRouxceceuint OCTOBER Human Dimension Implementation Meeting Warsaw 6-17 October The meeting includes a one-day Working session on the Rule of Law (9 October) and another on International Humanitarian Law (10 October)For more information please visit wwwosceorgodihr

Seminars Masters and Training Courses

July International Law Seminar Geneva 7-25 July 2003 In connection with the fifty-fifth session of the International Law Commission to be held at the Palais des Nations at Geneva from 5 May to 6 June and from 7 July to 8 August 2003 the United Nations Office at Geneva is organizing its thirty-ninth annual International Law Seminar from 7 to 25 July 2003 The Seminar is intended to enable students at the postgraduate level or young university teachers of international law as well as lawyers at the beginning of their career whose work involves questions of international law to widen their knowledge both of the work of the International Law Commission (ILC) and of the codification and development of international law It also provides an opportunity for lawyers representing different legal systems and cultures to engage in an exchange of views regarding items on the Commissions agenda The ILC is expected to deal with the following topics Reservations to treaties Diplomatic Protection Unilateral Acts of States Responsibility of international organizations Shared natural resources International liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law (International liability in case of loss from transboundary harm arising out of hazardous activities) Fragmentation of international law difficulties arising from the diversification and expansion of international law For more information visit httpwwwunorglaw Summer program for lawyers Paris 30 June-11 July The Paris Bar School (Ecole de Formation des Barreaux - EFB) has launched a summer program designed for lawyers engaged in international practice It consists of high-level workshops in the most important and topical fields in French and international law The registration needs to be submitted as soon as possible (only fifteen lawyers can be enrolled per workshop) to Mme Bourmaud Ecole de Formation des Barreaux 63 Rue de

Charenton 75012 Paris For any further information please email avocatstagiareefb-parisavocatfr Summer course on the ICC Galway (Ireland) 19-26 July The seminar is organised by the Irish Center for Human Rights (Director Prof William Schabas) On July 1st 2002 the International Criminal Court came into force The Irish Center for Human Rights has provided expert training in this field for over three years now Due to increasing demand a fourth summer course on the ICC will take place from July 19 ndash 26 The course will be given by a faculty of specialists many of whom have participated in the drafting of the Statute More information at wwwnuigalwayiehuman_rights AUGUST 5th session of the Salzburg Law School on International Criminal Law Salzburg (Austria) 10-22 August 2003 The Salzburg Law School on International Criminal Law is an annual two-weeks summer course to transfer the latest information on developments in this field The programme for the year 2003 focuses on the present situation in the development of international criminal law and its enforcement since the entry into force of the Rome Statute to the problems that have arisen in establishing the ICC or that may come up when the Court progresses with getting into operation and starts investigation dealing with specific cases The Salzburg Law School is directed at advanced law students with academic andor practical experience as well as young professionals Apply online on wwwsalzburglawschoolcom for further information please contact Nicoline Mertz at officesalzburglawschoolcom Training project for lawyers on the International Criminal Court ERA (the Academy of European Law in Trier Germany) and the CCBE (the Council of Bars and Law Societies of the European Union based in Brussels) are co-organising a training project for lawyers who will appear before the ICC The project will provide defense lawyers with the necessary knowledge to be able to appear before the ICC The training programme will include 4 week-long seminars over a period of 18 months For more information contact Wolfgang Heusel (ERA) at wheuseleraint (Tel +49 (0)651 93737-0 and Fax +49 (0)651 93737-90)

2004 ETHICS ndash High level Training Course in International Criminal Law Florence 16-27 February 2004 A two-week intensive training course in international criminal law addressed to prosecutors judges governmental officials and attorneys at law in the States Parties of the ICC Statute as well as to lawyers willing to join the ICC will be held in Florence at the European University Institute (EUI) The course is open to 60 participants chiefly from States Parties to the ICC Statute (20-30 scholarships will be granted to candidates from non-OECD countries) The teaching programme covers 1) Fundamental principles of international criminal law and international humanitarian law and 2) International Criminal Justice in practice lessons from the ad hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and issues facing the ICC Fees 3500 euros for nationals of OECD countries and 2000 euros for nationals of other countries Candidates must submit their application together with a letter of reference by November 7 2003 Applications must be sent by post as well as via email Prof Salvatore Zappalarsquo European University Institute RSCAS via delle Fontanelle 19 ndash 50016 San Domenico di Fiesole (FI) Italy Email ethicsiueit The University of Nottingham - Human Rights Law Centre offers a three-month course on International Criminal Justice The course runs from the first week of January 2004 until mid-March 2004 The participants will take two compulsory courses (lsquoFoundations of International Criminal Justicersquo and lsquoPrinciples of International Criminal Justicersquo) and will choose three optional ones Both compulsory courses focus primarily on the law of The Hague and Rwanda tribunals and the ICC This course is intended for persons who are interested in gaining an in-depth understanding of international criminal justice regimes that have been put in place by the Yugoslav and Rwanda Tribunals and the ICC and how the machinery works in practice Applications should be made to Gail Evans Human Rights Law Centre School of Law University of Nottingham Nottingham NG7 2RD UK Tel +44 115 84 66310 Fax +44 115 84 66 579Email GailEvansnottinghamacuk For more details visit wwwnottinghamacuklawhrlchrlc_short_courseshtm

PUBLICATIONS Articles and Books

Report from the 2002-03 sessions of the Assembly of States Parties by ELSA International The report includes updates as of June 2003 and can be downloaded in its full 150-page version at httpwwwelsaorgarchiveExternal_RelationsELSA_report_ASP_2003zip A 20-page handout version can be downloaded from wwwelsaorgarchiveExternal_RelationsELSA_report_ASP_2003_Handoutzip

International Criminal Court- Guide launched for victims of abuses seeking redress The Damocles Network the legal arm of Reporters Without Borders launched a guide for victims of abuses who wish to seek redress before the ICC The guide explains how the Court works what its jurisdiction is and how to bring a case before it as well as describing the challenges and obstacles it faces It can be downloaded as a pdf file from wwwdamoclesorg in English French and Spanish The guides author Pierre Hazan has written a book about the history of prosecution of war crimes (La Justice face agrave la guerre de Nuremberg agrave La Haye published by Stock Paris 2000) He has also made a film about problems of universal jurisdiction in hunting down Chads former dictator-president Hissegravene

Habreacute (for ArteTeacuteleacutevision Suisse Romande - TSR) and is completing a documentary for Arte TSR and the electronic media agency Article Z about the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Download the Victims Guide to the ICC on wwwrsforg and wwwdamoclesorg Handbook available Laurence Deguitre damoclesrsforg + 33 1 44 83 84 64

International Crime and Punishment Selected Issues Volume one Edited by Sienho Yee The research papers in this collection address several important and less-treated questions of international criminal law International Committee of the Red Cross as a witness before international criminal tribunals the definition of aggression mistake of law as a defense and the doctrine of command responsibility List of Contributors Joshua McDowell Michael Roseberry Scott Vogeley and Brandy Womack The author Sienho Yee is Associate Professor University of Colorado School of Law University Press of America $3200 Paper 0-7618-2570-3 May 28 2003 182pp For more information please visit httpwwwunivpresscomCatalogTOCshtmlcommand=Searchampdb=^DBCATALOGdbampeqSKUdata=0761825703

Rule of Power or Rule of Law - An Assessment of US Policies and Actions Regarding Security-Related Treaties Apex Press 2003 272 pp This publication examines US undermining of multilateral treaty regimes on nuclear chemical and biological weapons landmines global warming and international justice Includes chapter on the ICC by Pam Spees Program Director Womens Caucus for Gender Justice Updates 2002 report released by Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy This book provides a comprehensive overview of how at a time when Americans are keenly aware of international threats to peace and security the United States is systematically undermining the ICC and other mechanisms that would reduce those threats - Jayne Stoyles former Program Director NGO Coalition for the ICC For more information including on purchase wwwlcnporgpubsrpbflierhtm

Brussels Principles Against Impunity and for International Justice Adopted by the Brussels Group for International Justice following on from the colloquium The fight against impunity stakes and perspectives (Brussels March 11-13 2002)rdquo The principles have been translated into four languages French Flemish Spanish and English To purchase Publisher Bruylant 67 rue de la Reacutegence 1000 Brussels wwwbruylantbe infobruylantbe Contact Mrs Monserrat Carreras mcarrerasaibfbe Punt de Vista 13 El Nacimiento de la Corte Penal Internacional (The Birth of the ICC) By Antoni Pigrau Soleacute this publication is from Fundacioacuten Carles Pi I Sunyer De Estudios Autonoacutemicos I Locales It contains the following issues general aspects of the ICC the ICC set off real and potential threats to the functioning of the Court Available in Spanish Contact T+34-93-4527115 wwwpisunyerorg International Criminal Justice and Children Published by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre and No Peace Without Justice (September 2002) For more information contact Joydeep Sengupta at cicc6iccnoworg La Corte Penal Internacional- Ensayos para la Ratificacion e Implementacion de su Estatuto Edited by Joseacute A Guevara B and Mariana Valdes Riveroll and published by the Universidad Iberoamericana the Foreign Affairs Secretary of Mexico and the CICC (2002) For more information contact Joseacute Guevara at cicc2iccnoworg INFORMATI0N ON THE ICC VIA E-MAIL

European list English language To subscribe to this list please send an email to icc-info-europe-subscribeyahoogroupscom ICC World list English language To subscribe to this list please send an e-mail to icc-info-subscribeyahoogroupscom Reacuteseau CPI French language Pour souscrire a la liste envoyer un e-mail a reseau-cpi-subscribeyahoogroupscom TPI-Port list Portuguese language List Para se subscrever nesta lista envie um e-mail para tpi-port-subscribeyahoogroupscom CECPI-esp list Spanish language Para suscribirse a la listal envie un e-mail a cecpi-esp-subscribeyahoogroupscom Polish list Polish language To subscribe to this list please send an e-mail to icc-info-pl-subscribeegroupscom Asian List English Language To subscribe to this list please send an e-mail to icc-info-asia subscribeyahoogroupscom

THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT ON THE INTERNET

Amnesty International wwwamnestyorgicc Asociacion Pro Derechos Humanos (Aprodeh) httpaprodehorgpe Benjamin Ferenczrsquos website httpmembersaolcombenferen Coalition for the ICC httpwwwiccnoworg Committee for an effective International Criminal Law (CoEICL) httpwwwcoeiclde Constitutional and Legal Policy Institute httpwwwosihucolpiindexiehtml Council of Europe web page on the ICC httpwwwlegalcoeintcriminaliccDefaultaspfd=docsampfn=Docshtm Council of the European Union httpueeuintpesciccenIndexhtm ELSA International httpwwwelsaorg European Commission EuropeAid Co-operation Office httpeuropaeuintcommeuropeaidprojectseidhrconferences_cpi_enhtm European Commission European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights wwweuropaeuintcommeuropeaidprojectseidhrindex_enhtm Feacutedeacuteration Internationale des Ligues des Droits de lrsquoHomme wwwfidhorg Human Rights Watch httpwwwhrworg International Centre for Human Rights and democratic development httpwwwicjorg International Commission of Jurist wwwicjorg International Criminal Court httpwwwiccint Lawyers Committee for Human Rights httpwwwlchrorg No Peace Without Justice wwwnpwjorg The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairsrsquo website on the ICC wwwminbuzanldefaultaspCMS_ITEM=MBZ453053 United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the ICC wwwfcogovuknewskeythemepageaspPageId=158 United Nations ICC website httpwwwunorglawiccstatutestatushtm Womenrsquos Caucus httpwwwiccwomenorg

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE CAMPAIGN ICC NOW We would very much appreciate any information you might want to share with our members either on the ratification process

your own activities seminars on the ICC andor on implementing national legislation etc We apologize for sending this newsletter only in English You may nevertheless contact this office in English French Spanish Portuguese Italian or

German To contribute to the Coalition if you are interested in making a tax-deductible contribution to the international secretariat of

the coalition please send a check payable to the CICC to WFM 777 UN Plaza 12th Floor New York NY 10017 USA

We Would Like to Offer Special Thanks to Our Current Funders The John D amp Catherine T MacArthur Foundation The European Union The Ford Foundation The Open Society Institute Third Millennium Foundation The Governments of Canada Denmark Finland Germany Liechtenstein Luxembourg The

Netherlands New Zealand Norway Portugal Sweden Switzerland the United Kingdom and individual donors and participating NGOs

The views expressed herein are those of the CICC and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the funders

The views expressed herein are those of the CICC and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the

funders

The total or partial reproduction of the European Newsletter is authorised when the source is mentioned

CICC membership request form ______________________________________ wishes to join the NGO Coalition for the ICC (Name of organization) and (1) wishes to be involved in maintaining the integrity of the Rome Statute of the ICC (2) wishes to be involved in ensuring the ICC will be as fair effective and independent as possible and (3) makes an active commitment to world-wide ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute of the ICC ______________________________________ (Name and title of representative of organization) ____________________________________ (Address) ____________________________________ Telephone ____________________________________ Fax _____________________________________ Email Please return this form to The NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court co WFM 777 UN Plaza New York NY 10017 USA Fax +1 212 599 1332 Or send an email to cicciccnoworg

Historical Overview

The United Statesrsquo Isolated Struggle against the

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC) is a network of over two thousand civil society organisations in around 150 countries supported through regional coordinators and liaisons based all over the world The role of the Coalition is to represent facilitate and coordinate the work of its worldwide membership while serving as the primary information resource on the ICC and a liaison between governments International Criminal Court officials international organisations academics and civil society members The Coalition is working since 1995 towards a common goal the establishment of a permanent fair and independent International Criminal Court (ICC) Since the Rome Conference adopted in July 1998 by an overwhelming majority of states (120) the Rome Statute the NGO Coalition has been mandated to focus on five interconnected goals bull Promoting education and awareness of the ICC

and the Rome Statute at the national regional and global level

bull Facilitating the effective participation of civil society and NGOs as observers at the Assembly of States Parties in particular of representatives from the south

bull Expanding and strengthening the global network of organisations working on the ICC

bull Promoting universal acceptance and ratification of the Rome Statute as well as promoting and facilitating technical cooperation to ensure the adoption of strong domestic implementing legislation

bull Assuring the effective establishment of the ICC Since 1999 the EUROPEAN OFFICE of the Coalition is based in Brussels with a mandate to further the goals outlined above with a particular focus on this region

The Steering Committee of the Coalition for the ICC Amnesty International Asociacion Pro Derechos Humanos European Law Students Association Federation Internationale Des Ligues Des Droits De Lrsquohomme Human Rights Watch International Center For Human Rights And Democratic Development International Commission of Jurists Lawyers Committee For Human Rights No Peace Without Justice Parliamentarians For Global Action Union Interafricaine Pour Les Droits De Lrsquohomme Womenrsquos Caucus For Gender Justice The World Federalist Movement

What is the International Criminal Court

The ICC is an independent body governed by the countries to have ratified its treaty the Rome Statute Unlike the Rwanda and Yugoslavian War Crimes Tribunals created by a Security Council Resolution the ICC jurisdiction is not chronologically or geographically limited The ICC jurisdiction embraces crimes under Art 5 to 8 of the Rome Statute (genocide crimes against humanity war crimes and once defined the crime of aggression) It applies to crimes committed after the 1st of July 2002 in the context of international armed conflicts or internal intra states wars State Parties can refer situations to the Prosecutor of the Court when the crime was eventually committed by a national of a State Party or in the territory of a State Party Moreover the Prosecutor may initiate investigations proprio motu When the above criterion is not applicable the ICC has jurisdiction when the UN Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations refers a situation to the Prosecutor in which one or more crimes appears to have been committed or if a State non Party

to the Rome Statute accepts the exercise of the jurisdiction by the Court The ICC does not replace national legal systems It is complementary to national jurisdictions Thus it will only operate when national systems are unable or unwilling to carry out the investigations and prosecutions of such crimes Therefore the primary responsibility for prosecution for these crimes lies within States To this effect national legislation and practices should enable States to bring to justice the persons responsible for the crimes under Art 5 to 8 of the Rome Statute The national legislation must allow States to comply with the obligations set up in the Statute to cooperate with the Court There are different approaches for implementing effective national legislation depending on the legal system constitutional requirements and traditions of each state Technical assistance provided by states that have already ratified and are in the process of enacting national legislation would facilitate and speed up the process among other states

Historical Overview

With 91 States Parties as of 14 July 2003 the ICCrsquos jurisdiction continues to broaden its scope and support all over the world Yet the universal nature of the Rome Statute calls for prompt and worldwide ratification and accession

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Documents

European Newsletter # 33 · 2006-03-16 · European Coordinator: Irune Aguirrezabal Quijera, [email protected] Latin American and Caribbean Coordinator: José Guevara, [email protected]