ICC applies the law ‘without discrimination’

The permanent judicial institution of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a game-changer offering the world total independence from the UN and other political bodies, ICC president Judge Sang-Hyun Song said yesterday.

Speaking at the regional conference on the ICC, Song said it is also heartening to see more Arab states are considering joining the ranks of its 115-member countries.

“The ICC offers the world something new because it is independent from the UN and other political bodies. The Court is a permanent judicial institution that applies the law to all parties without discrimination,” Song said.

However, the official conceded it took world a long time to achieve a truly independent justice provider.

“The cold war froze the discussion of the creation of ICC. It was only in 1989 that this whole discussion was revived. Can you believe it took five decades,” Song told Gulf Times.

Currently, the ICC has three cases on trial, involving allegations of murders, rape, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers, while five accused are in custody and nine other persons submitted voluntarily to the pre-trial chamber.

Unlike the UN-run International Court of Justice which can only hear disputes involving member-states – that too when there is a consent by both state parties – the ICC can take up individuals engaged in crimes.

“Here at the ICC we want to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of the most heinous crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression,” he said, while adding that the ICC operates on the basis of “non retroactivity”.

“Because July 1, 2002 is the day the ICC was founded we cannot jurisdictionally handle any atrocity that happened before that time … so this is temporal limit,” Song told Gulf Times.

At the moment, six situations are under investigation or prosecution at the ICC. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and the Central African Republic referred their situations to the ICC themselves. The situations in Sudan and Libya were referred to the ICC by the UN Security Council.

The ICC prosecutor is also conducting preliminary examination of a number of situations on several continents, including Afghanistan, Georgia, Guinea, Colombia, Honduras, Korean peninsula, Nigeria and Palestine.

One investigation, concerning post-election violence in Kenya, was opened by the ICC’s prosecutor on his own initiative and approved by the pre-trial chamber.

Last week, a seventh situation appeared before the Court after the prosecutor announced intention to request authorisation to investigate the situation in Cote d’Ivoire since 28 November 2010.

But Arabs remained critically under-represented at the ICC even though Egypt and Tunisia have expressed intent to join, in a move welcomed by Song.

“The reason is the lack of awareness of the ICC rules and regulations and what instrument it offers,” ICC registrar Silva Arbia told Gulf Times. “It is our duty to create the awareness and knowledge of the system,” she said.

Photocaption: HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani greeting ICC president Judge Sang-Hyun Song yesterday