Oct. 31, 1996

Statement by Professor A.A. Fatouros

Mr. Chairman,

[...] Much remains to be done, obviously. Three or four session of the Preparatory Committee in the near future will be necessary, so that by early 1998 a full report, with a text embodying all the progress made, will be ready. No doubt, problems will persist, some issues will still be open. We should not expect the Preparatory Committee to be able to reach perfect agreement on everything. Some of the more difficult and more important problems will remain to be resolved through the give and take of the Diplomatic Conference, through the final bargaining process that cannot be bypassed This is what a Diplomatic Conference is for.

Further work by the Preparatory Committee, therefore, should make possible the convening of the Diplomatic Conference by June 1998, with a view to reaching full agreement on the establishment of the International Criminal Court. This should be one of the important achievements of the international community at the close of the Decade of International Law.