STATES PARTIES TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT END SESSION BY APPROVING 2004 BUDGET, FUND FOR POOREST COUNTRIES

International Criminal Court

Assembly of States Parties

Second Session

5^th Meeting (AM)

STATES PARTIES TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT END SESSION

BY APPROVING 2004 BUDGET, FUND FOR POOREST COUNTRIES

Assembly Elects Directors to Fund for Victims of Crime

Meeting today at the conclusion of its last session to be held at United Nations Headquarters, the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC) approved the Court’s 2004 programme budget and established a trust fund to facilitate the participation of the least developed countries.

In related actions, the Assembly elected the Board of Directors -- including two winners of the Nobel Peace Prize -- of the Trust Fund for the benefit of victims of crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction and their families.  The Assembly also established its secretariat, acknowledged the important role played by the United Nations in establishing the ICC and set the date for its next session, to be held next year in The Hague, Netherlands.

Earlier during the session, which began on 8 September, the Assembly elected Serge Brammertz of Belgium as the ICC’s Deputy Prosecutor.  As it considered the establishment of an international criminal bar, the Assembly was briefed by the Court’s Registrar, Bruno Cathala.

The Assembly also expressed its appreciation for the role played by the NGO Coalition for the ICC in coordinating activities between the Court and civil society.

In closing remarks, Assembly President Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein (Jordan) said the organ continued to provide the ICC with the necessary tools for its proper functioning.  It was important for States to follow through with their commitments by making their assessed contributions without delay, he emphasized.

At the opening meeting, the Assembly heard statements by the President of the ICC, Judge Philippe Kirsch, and the Court’s Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.

The Rome Statue of the ICC was adopted on 17 July 1998 by the United  Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court and entered into force on 1 July 2002.  The Assembly currently has 90 States parties.

Today’s Actions

Adopting resolution I, an annex to the Report of the Working Group on the Programme Budget for 2004 (ICC-ASP/2/WGPB/L.1/Rev.1), the Assembly approved appropriations totalling €53.07 million for the Court’s expenses, including:  €5.78 million for the Judiciary; €14.04 million for the Office of the Prosecutor; €30.65 for the Registry; and €2.6 million for the Assembly’s secretariat.  It resolved that the Working Capital Fund for 2004 would be established in the amount of €4.43 million.

The Assembly then adopted a resolution contained in document ICC-ASP/2/2 “as read with the recommendations of the Working Group on the Programme Budget”.  By that resolution, the Assembly was requested to appropriate €55.09 million for the expenses of the ICC and the Assembly’s secretariat, and to approve €4.6 million for the Working Capital Fund.

Patricio Ruedas (Spain), Chairman of the Working Group on the Programme Budget, introduced the report of that body (ICC-ASP/2/WGPB/L.1/Rev.1).  The Assembly approved it with an amendment from France to the effect that the costs of translation and interpretation not be affected by reductions requested by the Working Group.

The representatives of Australia and the United Kingdom also made remarks about the report.

Adopting resolution II of that report, the Assembly amended resolution ICC-ASP/1/Res.5 on the procedure for the nomination and election of members of the Committee on Budget and Finance regarding travel and sustenance expenses.

The Assembly elected by acclamation five members of the Board of Directors of the Victims Trust Fund:  Rania Al-Abdullah, Queen of Jordan; Oscar Arias Sanchez, former President of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Tadeusz Mazowiecki, former Prime Minister of Poland and Chairman of that country’s Robert Schuman Foundation; Desmond Tutu (South Africa), Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; and Simone Veil (France), former Minister of State and former President of the European Parliament.

In other actions, Christian Wenaweser (Liechtenstein), Coordinator of the Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression, said in presenting his report that given the complexity of the issue and owing to a lack of time, the Group had only been able to consider the definition of the “crime of aggression” and the “act of aggression”.  Several delegations had stressed the need, at the present stage of deliberations, to keep the legal and political aspects of the issue separate and to focus on the former for the moment.

The Assembly took note of the oral report and agreed to include the Coordinator’s discussion paper in the report of the session.

Reporting on the activities of the Bureau’s focal point on issues related to an international criminal bar, its Coordinator, Hans Bevers (Netherlands), said it had become clear after consultations that the International Criminal Bar had not been able to allay all the concerns raised by delegations regarding that body’s representation and transparency.  Discussions could, therefore, not be finalized.  He encouraged the Registrar to include in his report to the next Assembly a detailed overview of his efforts relating to the defence, including legal representation of victims.

Luis Guilherme Nascentes da Silva (Brazil) proposed that the item be maintained on the agenda for the next Assembly session and be called:  “Matters related to defence and legal representation before the ICC”.  In the ensuing debate, speakers expressed disappointment that the issue could not be concluded.  The representatives of Spain, Uganda, Costa Rica, Argentina, Venezuela, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay and Portugal supported Brazil’s proposal.

However, the representatives of France, United Kingdom and Canada expressed concern regarding the expansion of the agenda item’s scope.

Considering that permanent secretariat services were necessary for the fulfilment of the Court’s purposes, the Assembly then adopted another resolution (document ICC-ASP/2/L.5) establishing the secretariat and resolved that it should operate under the full authority of the Assembly and report directly to it.  Also by that text, the secretariat, which the text defines as “an integral part of the Court”, would begin its work on 1 January 2004.

The Assembly then approved a resolution (ICC-ASP/2/L.6) by which it requested the Registrar to establish a trust fund for the participation of the least developed countries in the work of the Assembly and its subsidiary bodies.  It called upon States, international organizations, individuals, corporations and other entities to contribute voluntarily to that fund.  It also asked the Secretary-General of the United Nations to close the special fund established by the General Assembly in 1996, and to facilitate the transfer of any remaining funds to the new trust fund.

Following presentation of the report of the Working Group on Staff Regulations by its Chairperson, Gaile Ramoutar (Trinidad and Tobago), the Assembly adopted the recommended regulations (ICC-ASP/2/WGSR/L.1/Rev.1).  Those covered, among other things:  staff duties, obligations and privileges; classification of posts and staff; salaries and related allowances; and appointment and promotion.  The functions of the Secretariat would include:  conference-servicing; core legal and substantive functions; and core financial and administrative functions.

In adopting a resolution on strengthening the ICC and the Assembly (document ICC-ASP/2/L.7) introduced by Christian Much (Germany), the Assembly decided to hold its next ordinary session from 6 to 10 September 2004 in The Hague.  It also decided that the Committee on Budget and Finance would hold two sessions in 2004, both in The Hague, from 29 to 31 March and from 2 to 6 August.

Given that the United Nations Secretariat would cease its role as secretariat for the Assembly, a resolution proposed by the Bureau (document ICC-ASP/2/L.4) had the Assembly acknowledge the important role played by the United Nations in the ICC’s establishment, and expressed its deep appreciation to the Secretary-General and the Secretariat for their outstanding support.

The Assembly also adopted a resolution amending its resolution on the Establishment of the Committee on Budget and Finance (ICC-ASP/Res.4) to the extent that, of the 12 initially elected members of the Committee, six shall be elected for a period of two years and the remaining six for three years.  Through the drawing of lots, it was established that members from Latvia, Belgium, Germany, United Kingdom, Bolivia and Uganda would serve a term of two years, and those from Jordan, Slovakia, Republic of Korea, Australia, Uruguay and Benin a three-year term. 

In other matters, the Assembly approved the report of the Credentials Committee (ISS-ASP/2/L.8), introduced by Brandon McMahon (Ireland).  It also approved the report of the Assembly (ICC-ASP/2/L.9), which was introduced by the Assembly’s Rapporteur, Alexander Marschik (Austria).

Closing the session, the Assembly President expressed confidence that in the near future, the Relationship Agreement between the ICC and the United Nations would establish the necessary link between them.

He noted that contributions to the trust fund by States and by the Human Rights Institute of De Paul University had facilitated the participation of the least developed countries, 22 of which had benefited in terms of their participation in the current session.

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