PREPARATORY COMMITTEE ON ESTABLISHMENT OF CRIMINAL COURT CONCLUDES FIRST TECHNICAL READING OF ZUTPHEN DRAFT
Press Release
L/2862
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE ON ESTABLISHMENT OF CRIMINAL COURT CONCLUDES FIRST TECHNICAL READING OF ZUTPHEN DRAFT
19980402 The Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court this afternoon concluded its first technical reading of the consolidated set of draft articles on the court's statute.At the outset of the meeting, the representative of Germany reintroduced, and orally amended, the proposal for a third option concerning the definition of the crime of aggression, which he had first submitted yesterday. The Committee decided to include the text as an additional option under article 5 -- crimes within the jurisdiction of the court -- of the document known as the "Zutphen draft". That is the consolidated set of draft 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).
Also under article 5, the representative of Switzerland reintroduced new language to simplify provisions relating to children and armed conflict. The Committee decided to include the proposals as new options, replacing others that were deleted. An explanatory memorandum annexed to the proposal was added as a footnote to the text. The memorandum states, in part, that the proposal seeks to incorporate the essential principles of international law while using language suitable for individual criminal responsibility as opposed to State responsibility. The text refers to recruiting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces and using them to participate actively in hostilities.
Next, the representative of Trinidad and Tobago drew attention to a proposal she had introduced yesterday on behalf of Costa Rica, Guyana, Jamaica and Thailand, also concerning crimes within the jurisdiction of the court. It deals with crimes involving the illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. She reiterated that the sponsors did not want to hold a discussion on the substance of the proposal (document A/AC.249/1998/DP.10) at this point. Their request was just for the inclusion of the text in the final document of the current session. The Committee agreed.
The Committee then turned to the proposal by Sweden (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,
International Criminal Court - 2 - Press Release L/2862 59th Meeting (PM) 2 April 1998
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 the 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 India sought further clarification on the proposal as he had had no time to study it yet. Sweden's representative said it was an attempt to harmonize different legal systems and its purpose was to have a consistent definition of the issue. The representative of Argentina added that the new version should be the basis for discussions in Rome, as it was a simplified version, more readable than the present one contained in the Zutphen draft. The Committee decided to act on the proposal tomorrow, so delegations would have more time to study it.
The Committee will meet again tomorrow, 3 April, at a time to be announced.
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