NewsGuy
02-14-2002, 09:36 AM
From CBS (http://cbsnews.cbs.com/now/story/0,1597,329387-412,00.shtml), Feb 14, 2002
A Win For Sharon
The World Court dealt a major blow to Belgium's attempt to try Israeli leader Ariel Sharon on Thursday by ruling that government ministers charged with war crimes can be protected from prosecution by diplomatic immunity.
The Hague-based International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, ruled in a case similar to the Sharon one, that Belgium had no right to issue an arrest warrant for a former Congolese minister accused of human rights abuses as he was immune from prosecution.
"The immunities under customary international law, including those of ministers for foreign affairs, remain opposable (applicable) before the courts of a foreign state, even where those courts exercise an extended criminal jurisdiction on the basis of various international conventions on the prevention and punishment of certain serious crimes," Gilbert Guillaume, president of the court, said in his ruling.
Belgium used a controversial human rights laws to issue an arrest warrant against the Congo's then-foreign minister Yerodia Aboulaye Ndombasi, on charges of crimes against humanity. The court ruled in favor of the Democratic Republic of Congo and said Belgium must cancel the arrest warrant.
The ICJ's landmark decision could lead Belgium to revise its laws and possibly drop its case against Sharon, and other high-profile leaders including Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Cuban President Fidel Castro.
* * *
How do you say in French: "Screw Belgium's anti-semitic meddling"? :)
A Win For Sharon
The World Court dealt a major blow to Belgium's attempt to try Israeli leader Ariel Sharon on Thursday by ruling that government ministers charged with war crimes can be protected from prosecution by diplomatic immunity.
The Hague-based International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, ruled in a case similar to the Sharon one, that Belgium had no right to issue an arrest warrant for a former Congolese minister accused of human rights abuses as he was immune from prosecution.
"The immunities under customary international law, including those of ministers for foreign affairs, remain opposable (applicable) before the courts of a foreign state, even where those courts exercise an extended criminal jurisdiction on the basis of various international conventions on the prevention and punishment of certain serious crimes," Gilbert Guillaume, president of the court, said in his ruling.
Belgium used a controversial human rights laws to issue an arrest warrant against the Congo's then-foreign minister Yerodia Aboulaye Ndombasi, on charges of crimes against humanity. The court ruled in favor of the Democratic Republic of Congo and said Belgium must cancel the arrest warrant.
The ICJ's landmark decision could lead Belgium to revise its laws and possibly drop its case against Sharon, and other high-profile leaders including Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Cuban President Fidel Castro.
* * *
How do you say in French: "Screw Belgium's anti-semitic meddling"? :)