ONE-DAY SEMINAR ON INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: EMERGING ISSUES AND FUTURE CHALLENGES
Jointly Organized by the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization
and the Government of Japan
(Summary of Results)

March 31, 2009

A one-day seminar entitled "International Criminal Court: Emerging Issues and Future Challenges," jointly organized by the AALCO and the Government of Japan, was held at the Hotel Maurya Sheraton in New Delhi on 18 March 2009. The event attracted 92 participants from the international diplomatic corps based in India, international organizations, the Ministry of External Affairs of India, the Indian Academy of International Law, and Indian universities. A keynote speech was made on the contributions Japan had made to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its experience with the process of accession to the Court. There were also lively discussions on issues related to the ICC and future cooperation between the AALCO and the ICC. The results of the seminar are summarized below.

1. Overall Observation

(1) The inaugural address at the opening session, by the Hon. Mrs. Fumiko Saiga, ICC Judge from Japan, was a lively presentation of the activities of the ICC, which met with warm approval from the audience.

(2) The keynote speech at the opening session, intended to help the audience better understand the ICC, was given by the current Ambassador of Japan to Switzerland, H.E. Mr. Ichiro Komatsu, who was Director-General of the International Legal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan at the time Japan joined the Court. Ambassador Komatsu described Japan's contributions to the ICC and its experience with accession to the ICC.

(3) At both the morning and afternoon sessions, participants engaged in constructive discussion of a range of problems concerning the ICC such as the relationship between the Security Council of the United Nations and the ICC, how to promote Asian countries' accession to the Court, and the 2010 Review Conference of the Rome Statute in Uganda.

2. Summary of Discussion

(1) Morning Session

Subtitle: "Progressive Development of International Criminal Jurisprudence and An Overview"

• A representative of the Government of India stated that India had been actively contributing to the development of the ICC since the adoption of the Rome Statute. He also explained why India had not signed the Rome Statute at the UN diplomatic conference in Rome in 1998, while also emphasizing that India would attend the 2010 Review Conference of the Rome Statute in Uganda in order to express its basic positions.
• A distinguished scholar from India touched upon the history of international criminal tribunals, making reference to the historical background of the establishment in the 1990s of such courts as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). He also described the problems that could arise at international criminal tribunals in the course of prosecuting individuals who had committed the most serious of those crimes of concern to the international community.
• The regional legal adviser for South Asia of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) based in New Delhi presented an overall picture of how the ICRC had contributed to respect for fundamental principles of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, which are enshrined in the Rome Statute. He also described the concrete cooperation provided by the ICRC to the ICC.

(2)Afternoon Session

Subtitle: "ICC: Current Developments and Contemporary Challenges"

• The Secretary-General of the AALCO stated that there were few ICC States Parties among AALCO member States, and that in particular there were only 14 in Asia. The concerns expressed by those countries that had not acceded to the ICC were: local judicial jurisdiction might be restricted by the ICC; it might be necessary to revise national laws as a precondition for joining the ICC; and the problems presented by bilateral agreements that had been concluded with the United States for the purpose of preventing US citizens from being surrendered to the ICC. The Secretary-General pointed out the need for the AALCO to carry out a training program with a view to disseminating information about accession as a means of overcoming these objections.
• The Director of the National Human Rights Commission of India gave an explanation of the challenges that faced the 2010 Review Conference of the Rome Statute in Uganda, including definition of the crime of aggression.
• Representatives of the Government of India announced that India was carrying out its own study on the revision of the Rome Statute and definition of the crime of aggression in the run-up to the 2010 Review Conference.