Military

DATE=6/16/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

NUMBER=2-304404

BYLINE=LAUREN COMITEAU

DATELINE=THE HAGUE

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The first prosecutor of the new International Criminal Court has been sworn-in at a high-level ceremony in The Hague. With the inauguration of Argentinean litigator Luis Moreno Ocampo, the court is now fully functional and can begin investigating and prosecuting cases of alleged war crimes. Lauren Comiteau reports from The Hague.

/// SOUND OF CEREMONY IN FRENCH ///

TEXT: 50-year old Luis Moreno Ocampo swears to do his job honorably, faithfully, and impartially. As the first prosecutor of the new International Criminal Court, Mr. Moreno Ocampo's powers are the ones opponents of the court fear most.

The experienced Argentinean prosecutor, who made a name for himself prosecuting leader's of Argentina's former military dictatorship, will have the power to investigate and prosecute the world's most serious crimes, from crimes against humanity to genocide. But his jurisdiction is mostly only over the 90 countries that have so-far ratified the court's treaty, and Mr. Moreno Ocampo can only investigate crimes committed after the court's establishment in July of last year.

He stressed before the audience of prominent jurists that the new court is a court of last resort, meaning it will only deal with cases when national jurisdictions are unwilling or unable to proceed.

/// MORENO OCAMPO ACT ///

The number of cases that reach the court should not be a measure of its efficiency. On the contrary, the absence of trials before this court as a consequence of the regular functioning of national institutions could be a measure of success.

/// END ACT ///

To that end, Mr. Moreno Ocampo, who says he sees himself as a broker of information, pledges to help national jurisdictions do their jobs better and protect their sovereignty. But even such assurances have not quelled the fears of court opponents, like the United States, which has refused to have anything to do with the court. U-S officials fear the new court could turn into a forum for politically motivated prosecutions of its citizens, including U-S soldiers involved in peacekeeping missions around the world.

The Bush Administration has taken several steps to place U-S officials beyond the reach of the new court. The United States has gotten the Security Council to exempt U-S peacekeepers from the court's authority, and it has also secured agreements with dozens of countries not to turn over U-S citizens to the court.

But despite the controversy, the mood inside The Hague's Peace Palace is one of celebration. Supporters of the new court say that after decades of impunity, those who commit the worst crimes will finally have a permanent court to try them. The supporters, from former Nuremberg prosecutors to representatives of victim's rights groups, believe that the best way to convince opponents of the court to accept it is to get down to the job of fair and impartial investigations and trials.

For Luis Moreno Ocampo, that job begins in earnest Tuesday as he starts sifting through the some 300 referrals already sent to the court for possible action. (SIGNED)

NEB/LC/KL/RAE