CROATIA SUPPORTS ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW INT. CRIMINAL COURT

( Editorial: --> 0768 ) ZAGREB, June 12 (Hina) - Croatia supports initiatives for the establishment of an International Criminal Court and for some years has been actively participating in preparations for its foundation, said the Croatian Minister for European Integration, Ljerka Mintas-Hodak. Croatia wants the new court to be efficacious, universal and independent, that is, to equally treat all states, be disassociated from daily politics and have an independent prosecution, she told journalists ahead of the Diplomatic Conference in Rome. Representatives of 120 countries and more than 200 non-government organisations will meet from 15 June to 17 July in Rome in order to establish the first international court for trying the perpetrators of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Croatian delegation to the conference is headed by Mintas- Hodak. Mintas-Hodak told reporters that for the court to be independent and efficient it should be financed by the UN and the Prosecutor should have the right to commence procedures independently. "The method of financing offers a possibility for indirect influence on the court, hence Croatia advocates that the court be financed by the UN," said Mintas-Hodak. The United States' view is that the court should be financed by sponsors and donors. Mintas-Hodak said that the Prosecution should have the power to independently commence investigations. "It is the opinion of all states that it is necessary to establish the court, but one still has to work on developing a draft Statute given that states have differing views on some issues," said Mintas-Hodak. One of these issues is the overlapping of jurisdictions of the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia and the new court, and the question of punitive mechanisms for states which do not wish to cooperate with the court. Mintas-Hodak today also received the Italian Ambassador to Croatia Frances Olivieri to discuss the Diplomatic Conference. "Italy, the conference host, supports Croatia's views and we have agreed to advocate a joint stance on the financing of the court in the final draft of the Statute," said Mintas-Hodak. The court should try genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is still uncertain whether aggression, due to its political dimension, and crimes against international conventions will be included in the Statute of the new International Criminal Court. According to one of the members of the Croatian delegation, Ivo Josipovic, the new court will start working within five to seven years at the best estimate. (hina) jn bag/rml 122039 MET jun 98