US urged to back new war crimes court

Date: 18/04/02

THE chairman of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee is urging the US to sign up to the new International Criminal Court.

Despite being snubbed by Washington, the new 'world court', which will be based in The Hague, finally became a reality a week ago in New York.

The US, however, has refused to ratify the Rome Treaty of 1998, which establishes the court in principle, claiming it could be used for politically-motivated trials of US servicemen.

But German deputy Elmar Brok says those fears are unfounded. 'The establishment of this court is a major achievement for the international community and I would hope the US will drop its opposition,' he said.

He added he did not see the court conflicting 'in any way' with the existing tribunal at The Hague, where Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serbian leader, is on trial for war crimes.

'The new court is where the likes of Milosevic will be held to account in future,' said Brok. MEP Monica Frassoni said her Green group has long campaigned for such a court and greeted it as a 'global historical event'.

The court has been created to hold responsible the world's most heinous criminals - leaders who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. If all goes smoothly, the new court will be inaugurated on 1 July.

• AN ORGANISATION representing 500,000 lawyers across Europe has criticised the new EU arrest warrant.

Speaking at a hearing at the European Parliament yesterday (17 April), the president of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of the EU, John Fish, said the warrant fails to provide protection for suspects due to a 'patchwork' of criminal legal systems in member states.

The chairman of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee is urging the US to sign up to the new International Criminal Court.