International Criminal Court Starts Operation in Hague

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, July 02, 2002

International Criminal Court Starts Operation in Hague

The world's first International Criminal Court (ICC), which was designed to try such crimes as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, started operation in Hague on Monday.

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The world's first International Criminal Court (ICC), which was designed to try such crimes as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, started operation in Hague on Monday.

The ICC came into existence after 73 nations signed and ratified the Rome Treaty, 13 more than the required minimum numberof 60 ratifications.

The establishment of the ICC has drawn sharply different reactions from the European Union (EU) countries and the United States. The EU member states, all of them having signed and ratified the Rome Treaty, hailed the ICC as the most important step in recent human rights history, while the U.S. government saw it as a further impediment to its unilateral operations abroad since it could target U.S. soldiers serving in peacekeeping missions.

Reports here said that hours ahead of the court's opening, the United States vetoed the renewal of the U.N. mission in Bosnia over concerns that its peacekeepers could be prosecuted by the ICC.Washington says it fears that its troops could become the target of politically motivated prosecutions.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan described the creation of thecourt as a "historic moment" and called on all states that have not yet ratified the ICC's statute to do so as soon as possible.

The ICC does not have retroactive jurisdiction and can only trycrimes committed after July 1. It can try crimes committed on the territory of a signatory state to the treaty, or by a citizen of such a state, or when the Security Council refers a case to it. The tribunal is expected to be fully operational by the end of next year.

The countries that have ratified the court will select 18 judges of different nationalities and one chief prosecutor, each serving a nine-year term.

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