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6 Hum. Rts. Brief 1 (1998-1999)

handle is hein.journals/huribri6 and id is 1 raw text is: .HUMAN RI6HTS Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law BR I Ff; WKashington College of Law * American Uni ve-rsity, The Rome Treaty for an International Criminal Court: A Framework of International justice for Future Generations byJeny Fowler* Late in the evening of July 17, 1998, a treaty to create a perma- nent International Criminal Court (ICC) came up for a final vote before a UN Diplomatic Conference in Rome, that had begun onJune 15, 1998. By a vote of 120-7, with 21 abstentions, the participants approved the treaty, which will create a tribunal for the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Amidst cheers and hugs, there was a widespread feeling that something historic just occurred. For U.S. human rights activists, however, the joy at this important step towards ending impunity was leavened by dis- appointment that the United States joined countries such as China and Iraq in opposing the treaty. The treaty will not come into force until 60 countries ratify it, a process that will take a number of years. Even after the Court is established, jurisdic- tional constraints described below will limit its effectiveness in its early years. Nonetheless, over time the Court offers real promise for ending the cycle of impunity for the worst human rights atrocities and increasing deterrence of these horrible crimes. Coming at the end of a century that witnessed the Holocaust, and with the images of eth- nic cleansing in Bosnia and genocide in See page 7 for latest War Crimes Tribunal Update Rwanda still fresh, the importance to humanity of this promise is immense. Structure of the Court The Court will be a permanent tri- bunal with headquarters in The Hague (Article 3(1)). It will deal only with crimes committed after the Rome Treaty comes into force (Article 24). Because the Court will be established pursuant to a multilateral treaty, it will not be an organ of the United Nations, although the two organizations will have formal relations (Article 2). Moreover, the Secu- rity Council will have a significant role in the Court's operation by virtue of its authority to initiate or defer investiga- tions (Article 13(b); Article 16). Initially, the Court will consist of 18 judges, elected to nonrenewable nine year terms by a two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly of States Parties, which will be composed of nations that have ratified the treaty (Article 36(6), (9)). At least nine of the judges must have established competence in criminal law and procedure, while at least five must have established competence in rele- vant areas of international law, such as international humanitarian law and the law of human rights (Article 36(5)). In selecting judges, the States Parties must take into account the need for repre- sentation of the principal legal systems of the world, equitable geographic rep- resentation, and a fair representation of male and female judges (Article 36(8)). The judges will be distributed among three divisions: pre-trial, trial, and appeals (Article 39). continued on page 4 Human Rights in Sudan in the Wake of the New Constitution by Ghazi Suleiman and Curtis Francis Doebbler* Prelude to Contemporary Times TTarious international organiza- tions have accused the Sudanese government of repeatedly breaching basic human rights. Claims against Sudan include violations of the rights to life, health care, free move- ment, and the enjoyment of one's prop- erty, as well as prohibitions against torture and slavery. These allegations have appeared consistently since 1990, one year after the current government came to power. The current Sudanese government complains that the international human rights community misunderstands and targets it as a result of its preference for Islamic laws. Indeed, many allegations of human rights abuses first arose when former presidentJafer Numeri attempted continued on next page I

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