Written Answers. - International Criminal Court.
Róisín Shortall
Ceist:
20
Ms Shortall
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the progress, if any, made with regard to the establishment of an international war crimes court; when the Government will ratify the convention; when sufficient countries will have ratified it to allow for its establishment; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25521/99]
The statute of the international criminal court was concluded at Rome on 17 July 1998 and was signed, subject to ratification, by Ireland on 7 October 1998. It will enter into force approximately two months after 60 states have become party to it. My information is that to date 90 states have signed the statute and, of these, five have ratified it.
The establishment of a permanent international criminal court has been supported by Ireland for many years. Indeed, Ireland was anxious to sign the statute at an early date in order to signal our strong political support for the court, as were our EU partners and our partners in the 66 member like-minded group which was set up to advance the conclusion of the statute and its timely entry into force.
A time lapse is normal between signature and ratification. The purpose of this time lapse is to allow each signatory state to consider what measures need to be taken in their domestic legal systems prior to ratification. The measures required prior to ratification and the timeframe involved will vary from state to state.
At the international level, this is one of the issues being discussed by delegations at the preparatory commission established after the Rome conference to address matters necessary for the effective operation of the court when the statute enters into force. The preparatory commission is currently meeting in New York. The aim of these discussions is to ensure that the necessary domestic measures are taken by states not only in a timely fashion, but also in a comprehensive and consistent manner.
Ireland may proceed to ratify the statute only when all the necessary legal and administrative measures have been put in place. A careful and detailed examination of the statute by my Department, together with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Office of the Attorney General and other appropriate bodies, is necessary in order to determine the precise nature and scope of the legal and administrative measures which may need to be adopted in order for Ireland to be in a position to meet its obligations under the statute.
Ireland and all other member states of the European Union have committed themselves to take whatever measures are required within their respective domestic legal systems to enable them to ratify the statute expeditiously. Of the EU member states, Italy is the only one to have ratified the statute to date, but most other states aim to ratify by the end of 2000. In addition, the member states of the EU have called on all states to sign and ratify the statute as a matter of priority so that its entry into force can be secured at an early date. 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 timely ratification and entry into force of the statute will continue to be given a high priority by my Department.
