UNITED NATIONS, September 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “The International Criminal Court (ICC) is now a functioning judicial institution seeking to make its contribution in the service of humanity,” the President of the second session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC, Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein (Jordan), said in remarks to the opening meeting yesterday. ICC President, Canadian Philippe Kirsch echoed his comments saying, “the Court is no longer an aspiration but a functioning institution and is preparing to meet the challenge set to it.” Kirsch noted that the Judges have begun the process of drafting the Regulations of the Court and hoped to finalize the document by the end of the year, after which it would be submitted to the Assembly.
Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, for the first time, addressed crimes under the ICC jurisdiction. Turning to the alleged crimes committed in the Ituri district of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he said that those potentially constituted genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes—all of which fell within the Court’s jurisdiction. “If necessary, he said, “I stand ready to seek authorization from a pre-trial chamber to start an investigation.” See the United Nations release on the meeting: https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/L3047.doc.htm