BELGIUM ANNOUNCES RATIFICATION OF TREATY ESTABLISHING INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Press Release
L/2962

BELGIUM ANNOUNCES RATIFICATION OF TREATY ESTABLISHING INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Belgium announced its ratification of the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court this morning as the Preparatory Commission for the Court continued its work on drafting two key technical texts necessary for the Court's eventual functioning.

The representative of Belgium, who told the Commission that the instrument of ratification would be deposited with the United Nations today, said Belgium's action indicated the great importance it attached to the Court. He urged other countries to sign and ratify the treaty so that the Court could come into existence as soon as possible.

Also this morning, the Preparatory Commission decided that at its next session in November, it would concentrate on drafting texts covering the Court's financial regulations, its privileges and immunities, as well as the relationship agreement between the Court and the United Nations.

The meeting was adjourned to allow the various working groups enunciating the details of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and of Elements of Crimes to continue their discussions. The Commission has a mandated deadline of 30 June to complete work on those two texts.

The Chairman, Philippe Kirsch (Canada), requested the various groups to coordinate their suggestions concerning consistency among the language versions of the Commission's final report on those two texts and to submit the suggestions to the Secretariat by 15 October.

The Rules of Procedure and Evidence cover such issues as composition and administration of the Court, penalties for crimes, obligations of international cooperation and assistance, as well as enforcement of sentences. On the matter of crimes initially within the Court’s jurisdiction -- genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity -- the Commission is working to identify what elements would constitute those crimes and would need to be proven in order to obtain convictions. In the category of crimes against humanity, it is discussing such crimes as murder, enslavement, extermination, persecution, disappearance and sexual crimes.

The Commission will meet again in plenary at 3 p.m. Friday, 30 June, to conclude its session.

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