World's first permanent war crimes court seated

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Eighteen judges took their seats Tuesday at the world's first permanent war crimes court, a long-awaited body that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said -- without specifically mentioning Iraq -- could help "dismantle tyrannies" and replace them with democratic regimes.

With the backing of 89 countries, but boycotted by the United States, the International Criminal Court was inaugurated in a borrowed 13th-century grand hall in the presence of Queen Beatrix. It will be at least five years before the court has a permanent home in The Hague.

The judges are charged with prosecuting war criminals, denying shelter to leaders deemed responsible for criminal acts and deterring others from committing atrocities.

Recalling that it took 50 years to create such a court, Annan called on the 11 men and seven women to "act without fear or favor" and to demonstrate "unimpeachable integrity and impartiality" in their decisions.

"All your work must shine with moral and legal clarity," he said.

In a remark that could be directed against precipitous U.S. military action in Iraq, Annan said the creators of the tribunal had considered "the implications such a court might have for the delicate process of dismantling tyrannies and replacing them with more democratic regimes committed to uphold human rights."

U.S. support withdrawn

Former President Clinton signed the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court, but President Bush withdrew U.S. support, fearing the tribunal would be used for politically motivated prosecutions of Americans.

The U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, Clifford Sobel, declined an invitation to attend Tuesday's inauguration, but the man who signed the treaty on behalf of the United States, former war crimes ambassador David Scheffer, was there.

Scheffer said he was disappointed the United States isn't participating in the court, adding that by staying away, it has lost any chance to influence its agenda and strike at dictators like Saddam Hussein.

"International law can be extremely effective in destabilizing tyrannical leaders who have a history of atrocities," he said.

The court came into existence last July when the 1998 Rome Treaty was ratified by the requisite number of countries. Since then, about 200 complaints have been filed, but none can be processed or investigated until a chief prosecutor is named.

Neither Russia nor China have endorsed the court, leaving it without the support of three of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members. Of the three, only the United States actively tried to block the court's creation.

Bush secured bilateral treaties with 22 countries granting U.S. citizens immunity from arrest warrants issued by the international court. Congress also adopted legislation empowering the president to use "all means necessary" to free Americans taken into the court's custody.

The idea of a permanent war crimes court is 125 years old, but only gained force after the Nuremberg trial of Nazis for the Holocaust and the prosecution of Japanese World War II war criminals in Tokyo.

The new court is modeled on the temporary tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Its rules and procedures will be set out in coming months by the judges and, once elected, the prosecutor.

The member states have been unable to find a consensus candidate for prosecutor. An election may be held next month among a handful of candidates.

Those under consideration for the post include Reginald Blanch, chief judge at the New South Wales District Court in Australia and Carla Del Ponte of Switzerland, the chief prosecutor at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal. Canadian, Gambian and Argentine candidates have also been named.