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 Iraqi
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Iraqi Special Tribunal and
the ICC
The Statute of the Iraqi Special Tribunal, available online
on the
Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA)'s website, was approved
by the Iraqi Governing Council and signed into law by Ambassador
Bremer on behalf of the CPA in December 2003. The substantive
provisions were lifted almost word for word from the ICC's
Rome Statute. Important differences include limiting the Court's
jurisdiction to Iraqis and to crimes committed before May
2003, extending the Tribunal's jurisdiction to some crimes
under Iraqi law, providing for the death penalty, and reducing
substantially the protection of defendant's rights.
The Statute was drafted by Professor Cherif Bassiouni, President
of DePaul University Law School's International Human Rights
Law Institute (an AMICC member) and a leading authority in
the field of international criminal law. He has been an advocate
of the ICC for many years and was chairman of the drafting
committee at the Rome Conference on the ICC in 1998.
The draft was then vetted by lawyers in the CPA legal office,
including British and Australians, as well as Americans. We
understand that the text was approved in English and that
no Arabic translation yet exists.
This development inevitably raises questions about why the
Rome Statute was relied upon so heavily, and what this means
for US policy toward the ICC. Clearly, it demonstrates that
the Bush administration has no serious objections to the jurisprudence
of the Court and considers it to be a reliable restatement
of the current status of international law. Its primary objection
to the ICC is its jurisdiction — its ability to try
Americans without explicit US consent. Because the Iraqi Special
Tribunal does not rely on universal jurisdiction, and in fact
can not reach non-Iraqis or Iraqi residents, no American could
ever be tried by it. Because of this major restriction on
the Special Court's power, the approval of the statute by
the CPA does not reflect any softening of the US ICC position.
Government Information
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US
Department of State website, Iraq Update |
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Senate
Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing: "Prosecuting Iraqi
War Crimes; A Consideration of the Different Forum Options,"
April 10, 2003 |
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Senate
Resolution HR 101 (108th Cong.), April 10, 2003, calling
for the prosecution of Iraqis and their supporters for
war crimes, and for other purposes. |
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US
Army Identified 500 Alleged Iraqi War Criminals in 1992,
Report Released under FOIA is a Precursor to 2003 War
Crimes Proceedings, The National Security Archive
at George Washington University, March 20, 2003 |
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House
of Representatives Resolution HR 118 (108th Cong.),
February 27, 2003, calling for the establishment of an
international criminal tribunal for the purpose of indicting,
prosecuting, and imprisoning Saddam Hussein and other
Iraqi officials who are responsible for crimes against
humanity, genocide, and other criminal violations of international
law. |
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UK
Parliament Debate, February 25, 2003, discussing how
exile for Saddam Hussein wold be impacted by the existence
of the ICC |
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Richard
Boucher, Spokesman, Department of State Daily Press Briefing,
January 17, 2003, discussing the possiblity of trials
for top Iraqi officials |
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Ari
Fleischer, White House Spokesperson, Press Briefing, October
11, 2002, re US plans for addressing war crimes in
Iraq |
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Saddam
Hussein As a War Criminal, remarks by Ambassador Scheffer,
Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes in the Clinton Administration
to Congressional Human Rights Caucus, entered into the
Congressional Record September 22, 2000 |
For more remarks by David Scheffer, President Clinton's Ambassador-at-large
for War Crimes, in reference to war crimes in Iraq, click
here.
Press Coverage
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Trying
Saddam, Douglas Cassel, Broadcast on World View with
Jerome McDonnell, WBEZ Chicago Public Radio, December
17, 2003 |
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Iraq
Council Creating War-Crimes Tribunal, Associated Press,
October 1, 2003 |
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US
Intelligence Categorizes Iraqis to Punish, or to Deal
With, by Thom Shanker and David Johnston, New York
Times, February 25, 2003 |
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"Wartime
Justice: Legal Experts Ponder a Trial for Saddam Hussein,"
James Podgers, ABA Journal eReport, February 21, 2003 |
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Q&A
with Phil Shiner, Michael Scharf, Jim Clancy, and Zain
Verjee, CNN Int'l, February 18, 2003, discussing the
possiblity of an ICC trial for UK P.M. Tony Blair if the
US and UK go to war against Iraq. |
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"Bush
Is Backing Exile for Hussein," by Sonni Efron, LA
Times, January 31, 2003 |
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"US
Would Welcome Exile for Saddam: Bush", Agence France
Presse, January 30, 2003 |
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"Trying
Saddam: The Options," by Anthony Dworkin, Crimes of
War Project, November 18, 2002 |
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"US
Would Seek to Try Hussein for War Crimes," by Peter
Slevin, Washington Post, October, 29, 2002 |
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"Try
Him for His Crimes," by David Scheffer, Former Ambassador-at-Large
for War Crimes, Washington Post, September 12, 2002 |
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"Indict
Saddam," by Kenneth Roth, Wall Street Journal, March
22, 2002 |
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"US
Senate Calls for War Crimes Trial for Saddam Hussein,"
CNN interactive, March 13, 1998 |
Background on Crimes
For more information about Iraqi war crimes go to the INDICT
website.
CLICK HERE to download
a flyer on Iraq and the ICC for distribution at events or
rallies.
Return to Administration
ICC Policy Table of Contents
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