The Nation Publishing Group

(Thailand)

Wednesday, October 4, 2000

Government accedes to Rome Statute

The Nation.

BY VORAPUN SRIVORANART/The Nation

THAILAND yesterday became the first country in Southeast Asia to accede to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, set up to effectively bring justice to those who commit crimes against humanity. The statute was signed by Deputy Foreign Minister MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in accordance with a Cabinet resolution on September 19. Thailand became the fifth Asian country to sign, following Bangladesh, South Korea, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. A hundred and fourteen countries have acceded to the treaty.

However, only about 20 have ratified the statute. Sixty states have to ratify it before it becomes effective.

The signing shows Thailand's political commitment to respect the basic protection of human rights. The treaty will complement the existing justice system in case the state is unable or unwilling to bring to justice perpetrators of "the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole".

The ICC, once ratified, will have jurisdiction over cases of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.

However, the ambiguous definition of "crimes of aggression" is being deliberated by a UN preparatory committee, a Foreign Ministry source said.

The source said state parties could refer to the prosecutor, to be based in The Hague, stating that a particular situation constituted a crime within

their jurisdiction and seek an investigation by the ICC. On the other hand, the prosecutor will have the right to initiate and investigate the case based on relevant information received from various sources.

If the prosecutor decides that the information is substantial, the case will move to the "pre-trial chamber", consisting of a panel of judges. The enforcement of the verdict will be carried out through signatory states, but if the state concerned has not acceded to the statute, the ICC will seek cooperation in the form of extradition, the source said, "but that runs into another problem concerning the question of sovereignty and immunity if a head of state is implicated".

The source said the national committee for the Rome Statute was going over the details of the treaty and considering whether to promulgate an additional law or amend the present criminal code to make national law

compatible with obligations under the statute.

Nonetheless ratification could take years owing to numerous technicalities and various political situations.

The ICC would have different jurisdiction from the functioning International Court of Justice (ICJ) since the former would deal exclusively with individual criminal responsibilities while the latter deals with nation states.