CRIMINAL COURT CONFERENCE COMMITTEE ADOPTS REPORTS OF DRAFTING COMMITTEE, WORKING GROUPS AND COORDINATORS

Press Release
L/2887

CRIMINAL COURT CONFERENCE COMMITTEE ADOPTS REPORTS OF DRAFTING COMMITTEE, WORKING GROUPS AND COORDINATORS

(Reissued as received from an Information Officer.)

ROME, 15 July -- The Committee of the Whole of the United Nations Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, in two meetings this afternoon and early evening, adopted further reports of its Working Groups for transmission to the Drafting Committee, as well as the first reports of the Drafting Committee with final provisions on the draft Statute which were introduced yesterday by its Chairman, Cherif Bassiouni (Egypt).

The Committee adopted, among other things, articles submitted by the Drafting Committee on the establishment of the Court, including article 3, which would have The Hague as the seat of the Court. Under articles on part 3, on general principles of criminal law, the Committee adopted 12 articles, including article 22, on non-retroactivity which, as explained by the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, concerns individual criminal responsibility. It states that "no person shall be criminally responsible under this Statute for conduct prior to the entry into force of the Statute". The Drafting Committee report was also adopted. It contains article 102 on the Assembly of States Parties.

Also adopted were 19 articles under part 4, composition and administration of the Court (from 35 to 53). Under "Organs of the Court", the draft Statute would establish the Presidency; an Appeals Division, a Trial Division and a Pre-Trial Division; the Office of the Prosecutor; and the Registry. Before adoption of articles under part 4, several Arab delegations expressed reservations on paragraph 2 of article 43, which states in part that the Prosecutor and the Deputy Prosecutor shall be of different nationalities. Those expressing reservations preferred specific reference in the paragraph made to different legal systems and not merely to different nationalities. Several delegations also expressed reservations on paragraph 2 of article 45, which provides for the Court, in exceptional circumstances, "to employ the expertise of gratis personnel offered by States parties, intergovernmental organizations or non-governmental organizations to assist with the work of any of the organs of the Court".

- 2 - Press Release L/2887 15 July 1998

The Committee had a protracted discussion on what some delegations considered ambiguous language on judges' remuneration. It stemmed from provisions relating to judges serving full-time at the seat of the Court and others outside, and whether they could engage in any other occupation of a professional nature. It was finally decided to leave the matter to the Drafting Committee to improve the language in the text.

In its afternoon meeting, the Committee decided to submit to the Drafting Committee reports of the coordinators on the preamble of the draft Statute and on the Assembly of States Parties; and of the working groups on applicable law, international cooperation (part 9) and on enforcement.

During the consideration of the report of the Working Group on Applicable Law -- which discussed article 20 on the issue, considered as a key article because it will define the meaning of the word "law" in the Statute -- some delegations expressed concern over a recommendation to include a footnote in the Statute.

The remaining subparagraph of article 20, adopted today, contains a definition of the word "gender" as follows: "For the purpose of this Statute, it is understood that the term 'gender' refers to the two sexes, male and female, within the context of society. The term 'gender' does not indicate any meaning different from above." A note in the working group's report states that whenever the word "gender" appears subsequently in the Statute, it shall be accompanied by a footnote indicating that it should be defined as stated in article 20.

Some delegations, however, including the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Libya and Yemen, recalled that the Committee had agreed that the Statute should not contain footnotes, as that indicates lack of agreement, and were concerned that the Drafting Committee could delete the footnote. They called for inclusion of the definition in the body on the Statute instead. It was finally decided that their concern would be conveyed to the Drafting Committee together with the report.

The same concern was expressed in regard to a footnote in paragraph 3 of article 87, which now reads "Surrender of persons to the Court". Some delegations, including Brazil and Algeria, reserved their right to revert to that question later, when the issue of reservations was resolved. The issue in question is that the constitutions of some countries do not allow the surrender of their nationals.

The Committee is scheduled to meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 16 July, to continue its deliberations.

* *** *