PREPARATORY COMMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT TO HOLD FIRST SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 16-26 FEBRUARY
Press Release
L/2906
PREPARATORY COMMISSION FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT TO HOLD FIRST SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 16-26 FEBRUARY
19990212 Background Release Secretary-General Kofi Annan will open the first session of the Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court, as it convenes for the first time at Headquarters on Tuesday, 16 February.The Preparatory Commission, which is scheduled to meet three times this year, will discuss arrangements for the operation of the International Criminal Court once the Statute to establish the Court comes into force. The Statute, adopted by the United Nations Diplomatic Conference held in Rome from 15 June to 17 July 1998, will come into force after 60 States have ratified it. On 2 February, Senegal became the first country to ratify the Statute. Seventy-five States have signed the Statute to date.
At its first session, scheduled to conclude on 26 February, the Preparatory Commission will take up such issues as the elements of crimes and the rules of procedure and evidence. Discussions will focus on Parts 5, 6 and 8 of the Statute.
Part 5 contains nine articles dealing with investigation and prosecution. It specifies the duties and powers of the prosecutor, and the role, functions and powers of the Pre-Trial Chamber, among others.
Part 6 addresses the trial, and includes the functions and powers of the Trial Chamber, the rights of the accused and protection of victims and witnesses.
Part 8 covers the issue of an appeal against a decision of acquittal or conviction or against a sentence, the proceedings to be followed in case of an appeal and the issue of compensation to a victim of unlawful arrest or detention.
The Rome Conference agreed that the draft text on those issues should be finalized before 30 June 2000, according to resolution F of the Final Act of the Conference which was endorsed by the General Assembly in resolution 53/105 of 8 December. Also by the resolution, the Assembly requested the Secretary- General to make available to the Preparatory Commission secretariat services, not including the preparation of working documents, to enable it to perform
its functions. Two more sessions are scheduled for 1999 -- 26 July to 13 August and 29 November to 17 December.
The opening meeting will be devoted to election of officers, adoption of the Commission's agenda and the introduction of proposals by delegations -- including Australia, France, United States and Switzerland -- on the rules of procedure and evidence and on elements of crimes.
The Rome Conference also charged the Preparatory Commission with preparing proposals for a provision on aggression, including the definition and elements of the crime of aggression and the conditions under which the International Criminal Court shall exercise its jurisdiction with regard to that crime. The Commission is expected to take up this issue on 22 February.
Philip Kirsch (Canada) is expected to be elected Chairman of the Preparatory Commission. Mr. Kirsch, Legal Adviser to the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, chaired the Committee of the Whole that negotiated agreement at the 1998 Rome Conference on the Statute establishing the International Criminal Court.
Participation in the Preparatory Commission is open to all States that were invited to the Rome Conference, including those that have not yet signed the Statute. Representatives of relevant regional intergovernmental organizations and international bodies, including the International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda may participate as observers. Representatives of non-governmental organizations may also participate in the plenary and other open meetings of the Commission.
The 13-part Rome Statute contains a total of 128 articles with some key provisions covering jurisdiction of the Court over internal armed conflicts; a well-defined and limited role for the Security Council in certain circumstances; and issues concerning gender and children. There are several important provisions covering the full protection of the right of accused persons to a fair trial, and for the protection of victims and witnesses appearing before the Court.
Under the Statute, the Court will be composed of the Presidency, an Appeals Division, a Trial Division and a Pre-Trial Division, the Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry. It will have 18 judges elected by the Assembly of States Parties for non-renewable terms of nine years. The Prosecutor and one or more Deputy Prosecutors will be elected in the same manner and terms.
The Court will be the first permanent international tribunal with powers to prosecute individuals, not States, accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It will have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression, once a definition of that crime is reached. The Court will be
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complementary to national judicial systems and will be able to assume jurisdiction only after it determines that a national system is unwilling or unable to do so.
At future sessions the Preparatory Commission will also prepare proposals on a range of other measures specified in resolution F of the Final Act. Those include a relationship agreement between the Court and the United Nations; and the basic principles governing a Headquarters agreement to be negotiated between the Court and the Government of the Netherlands, which will host the Court. Other issues are financial regulations and rules; and an agreement on the privileges and immunities of the Court.
The Commission shall remain in existence until the conclusion of the first meeting of the Assembly of State Parties.
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