NETHERLANDS REITERATES OFFER TO HOST SEAT OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Press Release
L/2860
NETHERLANDS REITERATES OFFER TO HOST SEAT OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
19980401Recalling with pride The Hague's tradition as the "judicial capital of the world", the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands, Jaap Ramaker, this afternoon reiterated his Government's offer to host the seat of the proposed international criminal court, as he addressed a plenary meeting of the Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court.
The offer was first made by the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs during the general debate of the fifty-second session of the General Assembly last September, he said, adding that his Government had decided to offer the premises for the court rent-free for a period of 10 years and hoped that that would facilitate securing a sound financial basis for the Court.
Also this afternoon the Preparatory Committee adopted reports of its working groups and was briefed by coordinators of consultations. The Committee is conducting its work through those arrangements and other informal meetings at the current sixth and last session before the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, to be held in Rome from 15 June to 17 July.
The Committee has been examining a consolidated set of articles on the court's statute which was produced by an intersessional meeting held in Zutphen, Netherlands, in January (document A/AC.249/1998/L.13) which compiled the outcome of negotiations conducted over the past two years, and which were based on a draft statute submitted by the International Law Commission to the General Assembly in 1994. The original 60-article Commission draft statute was expanded; the Zutphen draft has 99 articles and a new structure.
Further this afternoon, the Committee heard the introduction of three proposals.
The representative of Sweden introduced alternative text (document A/AC.249/1998/WG.4/DP.40) for the draft articles in the Zutphen draft relating to the commencement of prosecution, arrest, pre-trial detention or release, and notification of the indictment. The proposal is co-sponsored by
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States.
According to the text's introduction, the proposal reflects a decision by many of the authors to move away from national positions towards a single straightforward procedural approach, acceptable to delegations representing different national legal systems. "The proposal does not attempt to resolve issues as the trigger mechanism or powers of the Prosecutor", the text goes on. "Similarly, it does not attempt to incorporate at this time procedures relating to challenges to admissibility or jurisdiction."
The representative of Germany introduced a "revised proposal submitted by a group of interested States including Germany" on the issue of the "crime of aggression", whose inclusion under the crimes to be dealt with by the court is still under discussion. He said the proposal was the result of consultations and requested that it should be added to the relevant text on the crime of aggression contained in the Zutphen text as a third option, "a revised generic approach for a definition supported by a number of States", he added. The new language could supersede the text originally proposed by Germany, which was now included as an option in the Zutphen text. He emphasized that the text would remain in brackets, as the whole issue of aggression was still in brackets in the draft statute.
The representative of Trinidad and Tobago, also on behalf of Costa Rica, Jamaica and Thailand, introduced a proposal concerning the inclusion of illicit traffic in narcotic drugs as a treaty crime. She said that the sponsors of the proposal did not want a discussion of its content at this point. They asked for the inclusion of the proposal in brackets in the draft statute.
The Chairman, Adriaan Bos (Netherlands), informing delegations on the programme of work for the remainder of the session, said the Committee tomorrow would go through the text of today's reports of working groups and coordinators of consultations and try to clean it of options and brackets.
The reports were submitted by its respective Chairmen and coordinators in the form of conference room papers, or orally. Those papers, orally amended in some cases, contained mainly lists of articles and lists of further conference room papers where their bracketed or unbracketed versions of draft articles may be found.
The report of working group on procedural matters (working group 4) (document A/AC.249/1998/L.17) was introduced by its Chairman, Silvia Fernandez de Gurimendi (Argentina). The group dealt with the following issues: investigation and prosecution; the trial, including evidence and reparation to
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victims; and appeal and review, encompassing appeal against judgement or sentence, and compensation to a suspect/accused/convicted person.
The report of the working group on the composition and administration of the court (working group 7) (document A/AC.249/1998/L.14 and Add.1), which met for the first time at the current session, was introduced by its Chairman, Lionel Yee (Singapore). The group addressed a total of 15 draft articles covering issues such as: organs of the court; qualification and election of judges; the presidency of the court; chambers; office of the prosecutor; the registry; staff; privileges and immunities; rules of procedure and evidence; and regulations of the court.
Per Saland (Sweden) presented an oral report of the working group on general principles and criminal law (working group 2) summarizing the outcome of negotiations on articles 13 (ne bis in idem) as contained in document A/AC.249/1998/CRP.20. John Holmes (Canada), Coordinator of the consultation on article 14 (applicable law) also briefed the Committee.
Rama Rao (India), the Chairman of the working group on the establishment of the court and relationship with the United Nations (working group 8), which convened for the first time at the current session. Among the issues it dealt with were the seat of the court, assembly of States parties, funds of the court and voluntary contributions to it.
Briefing the Committee, Erkki Kurula (Finland), Coordinator on jurisdictional issues, said some delegations had strong reservations on the question of referrals, while a good number supported the idea that States which became parties to the statute would accept the court's jurisdiction. A number of States had spoken on the need for the court's universal jurisdiction. The proposals by the United Kingdom on the "trigger mechanisms", another by a group of States led by Germany and Argentina, as well as a United States proposal would all be included in documents to be transmitted to the Rome Conference and placed under the appropriate articles in the draft statute.
Also briefing the Committee was Mary Ellen Warlow (United States) who coordinated consultations on enforcement (article 86).
Statement by Netherlands
JAAP RAMAKER (Netherlands) drew attention once again to the offer made by his Government to host the seat of the international criminal court in The Hague. The offer was first made by the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs during the general debate at the fifty-second session of the General Assembly last September. The Hague was proud of its tradition as the "judicial capital of the world", as it was often referred to. The experience gained by hosting for many years such important institutions as the
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International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, as well as, among others, more recently, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, had given fruitful insights into the requirements for the effective exercise of jurisdiction by international courts in a host country.
The Government of the Netherlands had decided to offer the premises for the court rent-free for a period of 10 years and hoped that that would facilitate securing a sound financial basis for the court, he said. With regard to the court's pre-trial detention facilities, he said the experience of the Former Yugoslavia Tribunal would also be of great value to the setting up of the court's operations. He observed that the Netherlands penitentiary system was generally consistent with the preconditions as set out by United Nations standards. That applied both to its own domestic prison system, as well as to the cell block presently made available to the Former Yugoslavia Tribunal. The prison infrastructure in the Netherlands could therefore facilitate the detention of indictees, called to appear before the international criminal court, without upsetting any domestic balance in that regard. Stability, after all, was called for in setting up a permanent international court, he concluded.
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