ZAGREB: REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

ZAGREB, Dec 1 (Hina) - Legal experts and representatives of governments and civil associations from Croatia and abroad gathered in Zagreb on Saturday for a two-day regional conference entitled "The International Criminal Court and the Implementation of the Rome Statute in the Stability Pact Countries". The conference will focus on the establishment of the International Criminal Court, particularly the integration of the Rome Statute into the legislation of South-East European countries, legislative reforms in those countries and the adjustment of their legal systems to the standards, principles and institutions of the European Union. "Croatia has supported the establishment of the Court from the very beginning," and proved its support with its role in the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia in The Hague, the chairman of the Croatian Parliament Legislation Committee, Luka Trconic, said at the seminar. The International Criminal Court, a permanent court based in The Hague, to prosecute crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, will be set up after the so-called Rome Statute goes into force once it is ratified in the parliaments of 60 countries which signed it. The Rome Statute is an international contract on the principles of international criminal law and the transfer of criminal sovereignty to a global judicial institution, adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome on 17 July, 1998. The document was signed by 139 states and 47 have ratified it so far. Croatia signed the Rome Statute in October 1998 and ratified it on May 21 this year. Sixty countries are expected to ratify the statute by mid-2002, after which the International Criminal Court will be formally set up. The court will exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed on the territory of the states which signed the Rome Statute, except in cases when it acts at the initiative of the UN Security Council, in which case it will not matter who committed the crime and where. The court will act only in cases when the national judiciary cannot or will not process those responsible for the gravest crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The Zagreb conference was organised by the Croatian Legal Centre. (hina) rml