Bangladesh has full capacity to handle war crimes trial, says ICC president
Saturday, 12 December 2009
International Criminal Court (ICC) President Sang-Hyun Song expressed his full trust and confidence in the Bangladesh judicial system's "ability and willingness" to bring the war criminals of 1971 to justice, reports UNB.
Talking to the news agency during his visit to Dhaka last week, Mr Song said the ICC apparently had to respect Bangladesh's sovereignty, and he felt the Bangladesh judicial system had the full capacity to handle the kinds of "atrocities" referred to.
He, however, said the proposed trial of the war criminals "has nothing to do with the ICC."
The ICC president said any trial of war criminals of 1971 had to be "adequately handled" by Bangladesh's own judicial system.
On ratification of the Rome Treaty, he said Bangladesh might ratify the founding treaty of the ICC, the Rome Statute, by March 10, 2010.
Asked to explain the purpose of his two-day visit, Mr Song, a veteran South Korean lawyer, said Bangladesh had signed the Rome Treaty in 1999, and he was here to see "what has been happening over the last 10 years, in terms of Bangladesh joining the Rome Statute."
Joining the Rome Statute implies ratification after signing, something Bangladesh has not yet done.
Mr Song said certain advantages would accrue to it "provided Bangladesh ratifies the treaty by March 10, 2010."
This includes full participation in the first review conference of the Rome Statute slated for May 2010 in Uganda, which means Bangladesh "could make proposals to amend the Rome Statute." Ratification will also allow Bangladesh to "actively participate in the discussion on the crimes of aggression, which is very important," he added.
The ICC is currently unable to exercise jurisdiction over crimes of aggression, even though it is listed as one of the four crimes for which the Court exists to prosecute individuals, alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Mr Song said ratification would also mean that given the "excellent" legal tradition in the country, and its wealth of "outstanding legal professionals," Bangladesh could also nominate its leading lawyers to the bench of the ICC as prosecutors or deputy prosecutors.
Asked about the relevance of ratification to the trial of the war criminals of 1971 that the present government was proposing, the 68-year-old South Korean lawyer explained that ratification implied all the parties involved "agree to look to the future."
There had been some speculation prior to the interview that in a meeting with Foreign Minister Dipu Moni earlier, the ICC president had received a firm commitment with a specific date by which Bangladesh would ratify the treaty.
Mr Song, however, said the foreign minister had only said ratification of the treaty by March10, 2010, which would allow Bangladesh to enjoy the full benefits of its membership, was "doable."
The Cambridge-trained legal giant reiterated that the foreign minister had only said it is "doable for Bangladesh to finalise the process for ratification" by the said date.
Probed on what would prevent individual perpetrators of 1971 war being tried at the ICC, which had its headquarters in the The Hague, Mr Song explained that the ICC was based on two principles: non-retroactivity, which meant they did not go back to the past, and complementarity, which meant the ICC was a court of last resort and so perpetrators had to be tried through the national legal system first. Only if the national courts failed, then the ICC could step in.
Replying to a question referring to the law minister's comments on Sunday last (December 6) that ratification of the Rome Statute could mean the ICC providing training to prosecutors involved in the proposed trial of war criminals, as well as logistical support during the trial process, Mr Song said: "Actually, the ICC is a rather small organisation, with not enough resources. Still, if a country becomes a member, there will be an inevitable working relationship between the country and the ICC."
Talking to the news agency during his visit to Dhaka last week, Mr Song said the ICC apparently had to respect Bangladesh's sovereignty, and he felt the Bangladesh judicial system had the full capacity to handle the kinds of "atrocities" referred to.
He, however, said the proposed trial of the war criminals "has nothing to do with the ICC."
The ICC president said any trial of war criminals of 1971 had to be "adequately handled" by Bangladesh's own judicial system.
On ratification of the Rome Treaty, he said Bangladesh might ratify the founding treaty of the ICC, the Rome Statute, by March 10, 2010.
Asked to explain the purpose of his two-day visit, Mr Song, a veteran South Korean lawyer, said Bangladesh had signed the Rome Treaty in 1999, and he was here to see "what has been happening over the last 10 years, in terms of Bangladesh joining the Rome Statute."
Joining the Rome Statute implies ratification after signing, something Bangladesh has not yet done.
Mr Song said certain advantages would accrue to it "provided Bangladesh ratifies the treaty by March 10, 2010."
This includes full participation in the first review conference of the Rome Statute slated for May 2010 in Uganda, which means Bangladesh "could make proposals to amend the Rome Statute." Ratification will also allow Bangladesh to "actively participate in the discussion on the crimes of aggression, which is very important," he added.
The ICC is currently unable to exercise jurisdiction over crimes of aggression, even though it is listed as one of the four crimes for which the Court exists to prosecute individuals, alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Mr Song said ratification would also mean that given the "excellent" legal tradition in the country, and its wealth of "outstanding legal professionals," Bangladesh could also nominate its leading lawyers to the bench of the ICC as prosecutors or deputy prosecutors.
Asked about the relevance of ratification to the trial of the war criminals of 1971 that the present government was proposing, the 68-year-old South Korean lawyer explained that ratification implied all the parties involved "agree to look to the future."
There had been some speculation prior to the interview that in a meeting with Foreign Minister Dipu Moni earlier, the ICC president had received a firm commitment with a specific date by which Bangladesh would ratify the treaty.
Mr Song, however, said the foreign minister had only said ratification of the treaty by March10, 2010, which would allow Bangladesh to enjoy the full benefits of its membership, was "doable."
The Cambridge-trained legal giant reiterated that the foreign minister had only said it is "doable for Bangladesh to finalise the process for ratification" by the said date.
Probed on what would prevent individual perpetrators of 1971 war being tried at the ICC, which had its headquarters in the The Hague, Mr Song explained that the ICC was based on two principles: non-retroactivity, which meant they did not go back to the past, and complementarity, which meant the ICC was a court of last resort and so perpetrators had to be tried through the national legal system first. Only if the national courts failed, then the ICC could step in.
Replying to a question referring to the law minister's comments on Sunday last (December 6) that ratification of the Rome Statute could mean the ICC providing training to prosecutors involved in the proposed trial of war criminals, as well as logistical support during the trial process, Mr Song said: "Actually, the ICC is a rather small organisation, with not enough resources. Still, if a country becomes a member, there will be an inevitable working relationship between the country and the ICC."