UNITED NATIONS, June 20 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Friday, Sierra Leone announced its ratification of the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC), becoming the thirteenth country to do so. The Court, which is to be a permanent judicial body with universal jurisdiction over crimes committed by individuals, has now received 13 of the 60 ratifications necessary to bring it into being (Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago, San Marino, Italy, Fiji, Ghana, Norway, Belize, Iceland, Tajikistan, Venezuela, France and Sierra Leone). So far, 97 countries have signed the treaty establishing the Court. The treaty remains open for signature collection until 31 December. Canada’s ratification has passed the House and is before the Senate in the form of Bill C-19.
The ratifications are foolishly premature since the essential elements of the ICC, including its rules of procedure and definitions of what constitutes “crime,” remain open for negotiation. The UN press release announcing Sierra Leone’s ratification notes that “the Commission has a mandated deadline of June 30 to complete work on two aspects of the Court’s Statute that are essential to its eventual functioning: the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and Elements of Crimes.”
See the UN report.
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