Oct.28. 1996

Statement by Mr. Ashwani Kumar

Mr. Chairman,

[...] We appreciate the work done on the Rules of Procedure in the Haffner Group during the Ad Hoc committee, and subsequently in the informal working group under the Chairmanship of Mr. Per Saland of

Sweden during the Preparatory Committee. On the issues still outstanding, we are confident we will be able to resolve them by finding common features of criminal procedures with due recognition of the special attributes of the common law system on the one hand and the civil law system on the other.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I turn now to the future course of action on the establishment of the ICC. My delegation shares the view that the mandate of the PREPCOM be renewed further to enable it to complete its task in all remaining substantive areas. In this context it must be emphasized that given the unique nature and significance of the proposed ICC, all substantive issues in its Statute should be evolved through consensus.

It is in this perspective that we view the recommendation of the PREPCOM that it considers it realistic to regard the holding of a diplomatic conference of plenipotentiaries in 1998 as feasible. [...]