By Tristan Simoneau
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
KAMPALA, Uganda – On June 1, 2010, Belgium, Denmark, and Finland signed agreements with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to enforce tribunal judges sentences of imprisonment. The signing ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Belgium, the Under-Secretary for legal affairs in the Danish Foreign Ministry, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Under-Secretary for Legal Affairs in the Danish Foreign Ministry.
Photo: The ICC President with representatives of Belgium, Denmark, and Finland [Source: AP]
These agreements raise the number of countries that are willing to detain people convicted by the ICC to five after Austria and the United Kingdom signed similar agreements in 2005 and 2007 respectively. During the signing ceremony the President of the ICC, Judge San-Hyun Song, stated that “having sufficient options in place to ensure the enforcement of judicially ordered sentences is an important element in the overall credibility of the judicial process at the ICC.”
The Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is ongoing in Kampala, Uganda from 31 May to 11 June. States that are currently parties to the ICC Rome Statute (ICC’s founding treaty), as well as observer states, international organizations, and NGOs are meeting to discuss amendments to the Statute as well as its impact to date. Sentences of imprisonment, in accordance with Chapter X of the Rome Statute, shall be enforced by States which have declared to the Court their willingness to accept sentenced persons.
The ICC may enter into bilateral arrangements with States to regulate the acceptance of persons sentenced by the Court. According to the Statute, in deciding in which of the consenting States a person should serve its sentence, the ICC takes into consideration circumstances such as the application of standards governing the treatment of prisoners and the views and nationality of the sentenced person. When the ICC has made a decision it notifies the State with information regarding the prisoner’s nationality, his or her medical status, the sentence and the final judgment. The prisoner is then delivered to the territory of the State.
The ICC is the first permanent, treaty based, international criminal court. The ICC is based in The Hague in the Netherlands tries people accused of the most serious international offences involving crimes against humanity such as genocide. Currently, investigations are ongoing in five nations including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Sudan and Kenya. Four suspects are currently in the court’s custody while two trials are underway before the ICC Trial Chambers.
For more information, please see:
HAGUE JUSTICE PORTAL – The ICC has entered into Agreements with Belgium, Denmark, and Finland to Enforce Sentences – 2 June 2010
FRONTIER INDIA – The ICC Sings Enforcement Agreements with Belgium, Denmark, and Finland – 1 June 2010
UN NEWS CENTER – European Trio Agree to Enforce Jail Terms Imposed by ICC – 1 June 2010
