The first Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says: A president cannot have the privilege of "Head of State Immunity" if he has committed genocide.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the first Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, gave a speech as a keynote speaker at the opening ceremony at the 2003 annual conference of International Bar Association.

The International Criminal Court will accept appeals filed from anyone,
including third party organizations and individuals

Epochtimes - San Francisco - September 15
Correspondent: Youzhi Ma

On the evening of September 14, 2003, the annual conference of the International Bar Association (IBA) was formally opened in San Francisco. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the first Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), gave a speech as the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony.
Mr. Moreno-Ocampo told reporters that a president who has committed genocide should not have the privilege of "Head of State Immunity." Currently the International Criminal Court is working on lawsuits in this category, including cases of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed by former Yugoslavian president Milosevic and the current Congo government.

Between 1985 and 1992, as a judge's assistant, Luis Moreno-Ocampo investigated the former illegal military dictatorship in Argentina. Under the dictatorship, thousands of Argentine civilians were kidnapped, tortured, or murdered. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo filed the individual lawsuits using over 700 cases out of a total of more than 10,000 human rights violation cases, and brought the criminals to trial. After the International Criminal Court was founded in July 2002, Luis Moreno-Ocampo was unanimously voted to be the first Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. He was selected out of 12 judges in the International Criminal Court at the membership countries' meeting on April 21, 2003. He took office on June 16.

In his speech, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said that that the idea of establishing a permanent U.N. International Criminal Court emerged after the Second World War. At that time, there was no independent organization or other mechanism to handle cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the international community. Forty years later, in 1998, the International Criminal Court was formally founded as a permanent international organization. Since then, any plaintiff who has been sued for genocide or war crimes has been investigated and brought to trial by the International Criminal Court. To date, 91 member countries of the U.N. have signed the participation treaty with the ICC. In addition to the ICC, many other international NGOs and many countries are working hard to get non-participating countries to join. According to Mr. Moreno-Ocampo, China has not signed yet with the ICC.

Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said that it should be noted that, even in the U.S., it took time for the Constitution and the laws to become mature - from 1776 to 1930. He said that it takes a long-term effort to achieve justice in the law. He called the ICC a "self-disciplined" organization whose mission is to investigate those who have committed genocide and bring them to justice. "It has become a global effort to stop genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and such effort is beyond any one nation," said Mr. Moreno-Ocampo. "We will investigate all crimes in these categories committed after 2002, when the ICC was founded. For people in non-participating countries, we will not leave them alone either." Mr. Moreno-Ocampo further said that the understanding and participation from people all over the world shows strong support for the ICC. The ICC accepts lawsuits filed from anyone, including third party organizations and individuals.

Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said that his involvement in the investigation of the former Argentine dictatorship was a learning process for him and his family. At first, his mother did not share his opinion about the trial because Mr. Moreno-Ocampo's grandfather had been a general under the former dictator. But, two weeks into the trial, his mother's opinion changed completely after she learned what the government had done. She told her son, "You are right."

Tim Hughes, the coordinator of the International Bar Association, said the reason they invited Mr. Moreno-Ocampo as a keynote speaker to this annual conference was that the ICC is a key link in the chain of international law. Mr. Hughes noted that the ICC fills a vital role in the treatment of genocide, crimes against humanity, and similar cases. Before the ICC was formed, the United Nations had to establish a special provisional court for crimes against humanity, as in the cases of the massacres in the former Yugoslavia and in Uganda. He said that it is fortunate for the whole world to have a permanent international court.

Mr. Hughes said that everyone in the world should be familiar with Mr. Moreno-Ocampo, because he will accept lawsuits filed by anyone, anywhere. Anyone who has been persecuted or witnessed persecution can appeal to the ICC. No permission is needed from any other organization for such an appeal, and no lawyer is needed to file a lawsuit.

Mr. Hughes also said that the best lawyers should know, in the words of Emilio J. Cardenas, the president of International Bar Association, "When the law is in conflict with justice, we should fight for justice." He cited the example of Gandhi as a lawyer in India. "The lawyers and associations in non-participating countries are also playing an important role," said Mr. Hughes. "Today we have over 10 lawyers from Mainland China and Taiwan, and over 30 lawyers from Hong Kong who came to attend our annual conference," he continued. "They might share with us the environment in their regions."

The International Bar Association was formally established in 1947, the same year the United Nations was established. The IBA aims to protect all lawyers under the "Rule of Law" and to give lawyers, especially those in adverse environments, an opportunity to share ideas and to encourage each other. The one-week conference was held at the Marriott Hotel in San Francisco. It was attended by more than 3,000 lawyers from all over the world.

Emilio J. Cardenas, president of the International Bar Association

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