Michael Ferris
Question:40 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress, if any, made with regard to the proposed establishment of an international war crimes court; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12021/99]
Written Answers. - International Criminal Court.
I assume that the Deputy is referring to the International Criminal Court provided for by the Statute of the International Criminal Court adopted in Rome on 17 July 1998 by a United Nations diplomatic conference.
The Statute of the International Criminal Court will enter into force approximately two months after 60 states have become party to it. My information is that to date 79 states have signed the statute and, of these, two – Senegal and Trinidad and Tobago – have ratified the statute. Ireland signed the statute, subject to ratification, on 7 October 1998.
The establishment of a permanent international criminal court is something which Ireland has advocated for many years and the Government took an active part in the development of the court's founding statute at the Rome conference. The adoption of the court's statute was a major achievement which brings the establishment of an independent and effective International Criminal Court much closer to realisation. The court will have jurisdiction over the most heinous crimes such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The successful establishment of the International Criminal Court is therefore of major significance for the international community and Ireland will continue to support this endeavour by taking appropriate action to ratify the Rome statute as soon as possible, and by participating in the work of the preparatory commission set up to make the necessary arrangements to ensure the smooth functioning of the court when the statute enters into force.
The first session of the commission met in New York from 16 to 26 February 1999 and two further sessions are planned from 26 July to 13 August and from 29 November to 17 December. It is likely that further sessions will be arranged for next year. Ireland was represented at the first session of the preparatory commission and it is intended that Irish representation will continue at all sessions of the commission. The purpose of the preparatory commission is to draft the Court's rules of evidence and procedure and to deal with other matters necessary for its effective operation.
With regard to the ratification process, I should point out that the statute is a long and complex document which includes 13 parts and 128 articles. As a first step these will require careful and detailed consideration by my Department, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Office of the Attorney General and other appropriate bodies in order to determine the nature and scope of the legal and administrative measures which may need to be adopted in order for the State to be in a position to meet its obligations under the statute. The State may proceed to ratify the statute only when all the necessary legal and administrative measures have been put in place. I am not in a position at this point to state definitively how long this process might take, but I can assure the Deputy that the court will continue to be given a high priority by my Department.