The world's first
permanent international criminal court will go from being a political
body to a judicial reality at 1330 UTC Tuesday. The court's first 18
judges will be sworn in in a high-level ceremony in The Hague, in spite
of American opposition to the court.
Noticeably absent from the more than 500 guests
attending the court's inauguration with U.N. Secretary General Kofi
Annan will be any official representative from Washington.
Eighty-nine countries have so far ratified the Rome
Treaty establishing the court, but the United States is not among them.
The world's first permanent international criminal court will have the
power to try the world's most serious crimes, such as genocide and
crimes against humanity, but it mostly has jurisdiction only over
signatory countries.
The Bush Administration says it fears American
citizens will be unfairly targeted and has opposed creation of the
court. It has also negotiated agreements with more than 20 countries to
grant U.S. citizens immunity from the court's authority.
The man who signed the Rome Treaty on behalf of the
United States, David Scheffer, the U.S. war crimes ambassador under
President Bill Clinton, said it is extremely disappointing that his
country is not playing a role in the formation of the court.
"It will take a long long time for the U.S. to
recapture leadership and credibility and the high ground with respect to
the rule of law when it comes to addressing atrocities and dealing with
them," said Mr. Scheffer.
The International Criminal Court has so far received
more than 200 referrals of cases it may take on. Most of them are
reported to be frivolous, but many are not.
Alleged war crimes committed in the Central African
Republic and the Congo are among the court's potential targets. Once a
prosecutor is elected next month, the referrals can be reviewed, but it
is expected to take about two years for any case to actually come before
the court.
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