In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

    Mr. President,

     I would like to congratulate you on your election to the presidency of this historic conference, and express through
you our thanks to the government of Italy for hosting this conference. Allow me also to join previous speakers in
expressing appreciation to Mr. Adrian Boos for his tireless efforts and hope for his early recovery.

     Mr. President,

     For nearly half a century, and almost since the inception of the United Nations, the international community, through the General Assembly, has recognized the need to establish an international criminal court to prosecute and punish perpetrators of the most heinous international crimes, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and
aggression. The flexibility associated with the transitional nature of international relations coupled with a global
conscience horrified by the televised scenes of unparalleled inhumanity give rise to unique opportunity and a historic
responsibility to endeavor collectively for the realization of this aspiration. Today, there is a genuine possibility that
the experience gained through the establishment of the two Ad Hoc Tribunals by the Security Council, and the work
done by the International Law Commission, the Ad Hoc Committee and the Preparatory Committee come to fruition.
Certainly, the establishment of an international criminal court, by the end of the United Nations Decade of
International Law and at the threshold of the new millennium will be another milestone towards achieving peace with
justice.

     The international community and the victims of these very horrifying crimes have suffered enough from the abuse of existing international mechanisms through politically motivated negligence or application of double standards. Thus, we need to put this momentum to the best use and truly seize this propitious moment through understanding and tolerance for diversity, to establish an international court that must be an independent, universal effective and impartial judicial body

    Mr. President,

     An independent and effective international criminal court requires collective preparation and active participation of all States. To this end, flexibility and consensus building constitute the best means for achieving results now and  facilitating the work of the ICC in the future.

     Moreover the primary objective of our deliberations should focus on ways and means of ensuring the universality and universal acceptance of the Statute. We must, therefore, prepare an instrument that is capable of receiving the
ratification of the largest possible number of States in order to meet the requirement of universality.

     In this context, a number of issues deserve our serious attention:

     First, a well-defined and universally accepted scope of jurisdiction for ICC would facilitate acceptance and
consequently the early entry into force of the statute. We are in favor of inclusion the crime of genocide, the serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflicts, and grave breaches of the four Geneva Conventions. We also believe that the crime of aggression as a punishable crime should be included in the Statute.

     Second, the relationship between the Court and national jurisdictions constitutes one of the most important factors
for the universal acceptance of the Court and for its ultimate success. There seems to be general agreement that the
Court will be complementary to national criminal justice system. In our opinion, the Court should address situations
where domestic trial procedures are ineffective or unavailable. It should be noted that for effective and equitable
operation of the Court, consent and cooperation of concerned states are necessary. It is evident that discontent of
concerned governments may lead to their incomplete cooperation with the Court that needs to be avoided.
 
     Third, the way we address the relationship between the ICC and the Security Council will have
 lasting implications for the independence, acceptability and even relevance of the Court. We all want to
 see the establishment of an independent judicial body free from the influence and interference of
 political organs. Thus, the responsibility of the Security Council under the Charter to determine the
 existence of aggression should in no way undermine the role of the Court in judicial ascertaining of the
 existence of a crime. Therefore, the definition of aggression and the role of the Security Council have
 to be precisely clarified in the statute. We should try to preclude any perception or misunderstanding
 that the decisions of the Court in this regard are influenced by the Security Council. Initiating the Court's proceedings,
therefore, should not be depended upon the Security Council's permission or approval. Determination of the crime of aggression should thus rest with the International Criminal Court and States should have the right to refer the crime to the Court.

     Fourth, we believe the prosecutor should be independent and effective and capable of attracting the full backing of
the international community. The powers of the prosecutor must therefore be clearly defined in order to preclude the
possibility or even perception of political abuse. In this context, while we should ensure that the office of the
prosecutor has the necessary means to conduct effective and independent investigation and prosecution, it would be
premature at this stage to provide the office with the ability to initiate proceedings before the Court.
 
     Finally, it is imperative to envisage the modalities for the election of judges, the prosecutor and the registrar, as well as other officials of the Court in a manner that meets the requirement of representation of major legal systems and equitable geographical distribution.

     We favor the establishment of a preliminary commission to formulate and finalize rules of procedure of the Court, a
cooperation agreement with the United Nations, a headquarters' agreement, a convention on privileges and
immunities, and administrative and financial regulations of the Court. We also support the formation of "General Assembly of Member-States of the Court's Statute".

     Mr. President,

     In conclusion, my delegation hopes that we will all witness, in the near future, the establishment of an independent
and impartial international criminal court, which could exercise justice in international community and help realize
the aspirations of the human society; a Court that contributes to eliminate and deter acts of cruelty and inhumanity
throughout the globe, and thus paves the way for a more humane world order in which peace and justice compliment each other.

     Thank you Mr. President.