NCJ Number
174684
Journal
Security Journal Volume: 11 Issue: 2-3 Dated: December 1998 Pages: 123-130
Date Published
1998
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court will probably approve a law that most countries will ratify and that will create a permanent multinational court to try and punish private citizens who become international outlaws due to their human rights violations.
Abstract
The court will be a permanent, independent organization and not an organ of the United Nations itself. The law will also establish an office of professional prosecutors to investigate and prosecute these offenses against peace and human dignity. This law rests on increasing recognition that some offenses are of international concern and can be prosecuted extraterritorially. The law has resulted from 6 years of drafting, negotiation, and revision under the auspices of the United Nations. The delegates to the United Nations Conference in Rome in July 1998 are expected to report their final draft to the United Nations General Assembly later in the year for formal approval and circulation to member countries for ratification. Major unresolved issues concern the power of the court and its prosecutor to initiate and press investigations without a request and without the consent of any government or pre-clearance by the United Nations Security Council. Footnotes and 6 references