UNITED NATIONS

Department of Public Information

Press Release

19 August 1996

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PREPARATORY COMMITTEE ON ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

DISCUSSES NEED FOR SPECIAL VICTIM AND WITNESS PROTECTION UNIT

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The proposed international criminal court should establish a special unit

concerned with the protection of victims and witnesses, several delegations

said this morning, as the Preparatory Committee for the establishment of the court discussed the protection of the accused persons, victims and

witnesses.

Several delegations indicated that the provisions of the court's draft

statute on protection were insufficient. Australia said that the obligation

of the court should be further elaborated.

The representatives of Egypt and the United States suggested that the

protection unit should be similar to the special unit established by the

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Slovenia

indicated that the court should establish special services to attend the

needs of victims of sexual assault, those suffering from mental disorders or victims who were minors. Finland said that consideration should be given to the employment of court officers of both sexes.

Portugal stressed that victims and witnesses before the court should bear no financial burden regarding their participation in the work of the court.

France said that States party to the court should be obliged to provide for

those protections, consistent with their national legislation.

Witnesses should be entitled to refrain from testifying against family

members, according to the representative of Germany. Many legal systems

allowed such provisions for medical doctors, attorneys or priests. China

said that the court statute should provide separate protection for accused

persons, on the one hand, and for victims and witnesses on the other.

Several delegations mentioned the right of compensation for victims,

including the possibility of establishing a compensation fund which would be controlled by the proposed court.

France said that States party to the court should able to use their perjury

laws to cover evidence presented to the court by their nationals. Several

delegations, however, said that the court itself should deal with perjury.

Finland said that under the principle of complementarity, the court would

prosecute only when States were unable or unwilling to do so; that implied

that it would not prosecute perjury either.

Japan expressed doubts regarding the extension of national laws governing

perjury to the international criminal court, as perjury laws would vary from State to State. Canada said that if the State of nationality of a witness was not a party to the court, there might be practical problems in acting on an accusation of perjury.

The proposed court should have the power to preserve the integrity of

proceedings and sanction perjury, the representative of the United States

said. Singapore stated that the court should be given flexibility for

elaborating or even promulgating evidential rules in situations not dealt

with in the statute. Ireland also mentioned the notion of flexibility for

the court but warned that the gravity of the charges against the accused

should not be lost from sight.

Several delegations called for further elaborations of statute provisions

governing the exclusion of evidence. Israel said that proscriptions against

the use of evidence obtained by a "serious violation" of the statute were

too vague. The court should be empowered to exclude evidence gathered by any unlawful means.

Egypt said that many points regarding the use of evidence should be

contained in the rules or procedure, rather than in the court statute.

Netherlands said a new draft article should provide a list of evidentiary

sources admissible in the court. The Philippines noted that the person

giving testimony should be made fully aware of the sanctions for committing

perjury.

When it meets again at 3 p.m. this afternoon, the Preparatory Committee on

the Establishment of an International Criminal Court will continue its

discussion of the draft statute.