PREPARATORY COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT HEARS DIVERGENT VIEWS ON CONVENING OF INFORMAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING BEFORE ROME
Press Release
L/2863
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT HEARS DIVERGENT VIEWS ON CONVENING OF INFORMAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING BEFORE ROME
19980403 Divergent views were expressed this morning at the Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court on the legal basis for convening an informal intersessional meeting of its bureau to deal with organizational matters prior to the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, to be convened in Rome from 15 June to 17 July.The Chairman, Adriaan Bos (Netherlands), noting that the Committee, during the current session, had improved and cleaned the draft statute for the court, stressed that the work of the Conference would not be an easy one, as several issues remained to be dealt with in a rather short period of time. As an attempt to seek an efficient way to function in Rome, it had been suggested that the bureau members and all coordinators of consultations of different aspects of the draft text, together with the nominated President of the Conference and the nominated Chairman of its Drafting Committee, should meet informally prior to the Conference to discuss such matters in order to ensure a smooth transition from the Preparatory Committee to the Rome Conference.
The representatives of Lebanon and Syria asked whether the meeting could take place at Headquarters and be open to all other interested delegations. The Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel, Hans Corell, noted that the same secretariat that served the Committee would be involved in the International Law Commission session in Geneva for the next eight weeks.
The representative of Kenya sought information on the terms of reference of the work of the bureau after the conclusion today of the work of the Preparatory Committee. Colombia's representative noted that according to the rules of procedure, the officers of the Conference should take care of its organizational issues.
The representative of Cuba added that from the procedural point of view, if the nominated President would be invited, all the nominated Vice-Presidents and the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole should also be invited. The representative of Lebanon said that he would not oppose the holding of a meeting in an informal setting, but wanted to know its legal basis, as the
Preparatory Committee would cease to exist today. The representatives of Syria, Iraq and Cuba also wondered about the legal basis for the convening the proposed meeting.
Mr. Corell said the Committee's bureau had offered to extend its work to facilitate the work of the Conference, and the Secretariat welcomed that initiative.
The representative of the Philippines supported the convening of the meeting, but expressed concern that the initiative was not getting support, and would not be a very auspicious way of starting a very difficult process in Rome. The representative of Slovakia stressed that such a meeting would not take binding decisions. There was nothing that could prevent States from agreeing to hold that meeting, he said, adding that it was a matter of trust and confidence.
The United Kingdom's representative said that it appeared that there was indeed a lack of legal basis for convening the meeting, and that she understood the technical difficulties raised. She wondered whether the Chairman needed a mandate. The Chairman said the issue would continue to be discussed in the afternoon.
Also this morning the Committee decided to include a proposal relating to the commencement of prosecution, arrest, pre-trial detention or release, and notification of the indictment (document A/AC.249/1998/WG.4/DP.40) in the Zutphen draft as an option to the language already in the text. The proposal was 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. The Committee also decided to include a footnote based on the introduction to it, which states, in part, that 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 representative of Cuba supported the action, but requested the inclusion of a second footnote, stating that one delegation had expressed the view that in the new proposal substantive matters of procedure, which appeared the text of the Zutphen draft, had been omitted.
The Committee also adopted the draft text on final clauses (document A/AC.249/1998/CRP.18). Its articles include those on settlement of disputes, reservations, amendments, signature and ratification, and entry into force.
International Criminal Court - 3 - Press Release L/2863 60th Meeting (AM) 3 April 1998
The Committee then adopted the outcome of its substantive work, which is the draft statute for the international criminal court as contained in documents A/AC.249/1998/CRPs.6 to 19, and consisting of preamble, parts 1 to 11, and final act.
It also adopted a list of 237 non-governmental organizations which expressed an interest in attending the Rome Conference.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. today to conduct informal consultations on the rules of procedure of the Conference, to be followed by a formal plenary to conclude its work.
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