May 12, 2002	Sunday	Safar 28, 1423

GENEVA: The International Criminal Court for trying cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide will begin to operate within a year, in spite of the opposition of the US, say human rights groups.

The process of setting up the 18-justice court will continue normally, even though Washington has renounced its obligations as a signatory of the Rome Statute, which established the tribunal in 1998, said William R. Pace, convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court.

The treaty for creating the new court, known as the Rome Statute as it was adopted in that city in 1998 by a UN conference, enters into force on July 1 having been ratified by 66 countries.

But the court will not become operational for approximately one year because the states party to the treaty will not hold their first assembly until early September, in New York. There, they will have to approve the budget for the first 12 months and the programme for establishing the tribunal.

At that meeting, the delegates of the ratifying countries will determine the rules of procedure for the nomination and the election of the International Criminal Court’s 18 judges and the prosecutor.

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court, made up of 15 NGOs specializing in human rights - including Amnesty International, International Commission of Jurists and Human Rights Watch - issued a forewarning about the process.

The credibility of the designations of the court justices and the quality of the judges themselves will determine the image, the moral authority and the success of the International Criminal Court, stated coalition leader Pace.

The EU, which strongly supports the creation of the court, says it should consist of reputable judges and lawyers who have extensive knowledge of criminal, international and humanitarian law.

In addition to the general prosecutor and at least two assistants, the court will have a staff of 100 to 200 employees in the first two years. The number of agents will double by the end of the first five years of operations, estimate the human rights NGOs.

Pace said the parameters for the calculations were based on the special courts set up for the Yugoslavia and Rwanda cases, which have approximately 400 and 900 employees, respectively. The budget for the International Criminal Court could reach $29 million, he said. For perspective, Pace pointed out that the members of the NATO spent $11 billion in 1999 on overseas military operations.—Dawn/InterPress Service.