Clause 2 - Request for arrest and surrender
International Criminal Court Bill [Lords]
10:30 am
Mr Crispin Blunt (Reigate, Conservative)
This is an important discussion. Let us imagine a case in which the ICC has issued a warrant for the arrest of a British subject. We may be put in the position where our country's judicial system is in dispute with the ICC because the ICC has come to a conclusion under article 17.1(a) and (b). The latter sub-paragraph refers to a case that:
``has been investigated by a State''—
the prosecuting authorities in Britain have investigated it—and
``the State has decided not to prosecute the person concerned, unless the decision resulted from the unwillingness or inability of the State genuinely to prosecute;''
I will illustrate that situation with a case study. I have seen in print a prima facie case from a lawyer that shows that the bombing of a television station in Belgrade in the war over Kosovo amounted to a war crime because it was known that civilians—non-combatants—were inside and they died as a consequence of the deliberate action of the allied air force—I believe that it was the action of the American air force in that instance. Hon. Members will remember the debate at that time about whether it was appropriate to attack television stations. The line taken by the Government and NATO was that such a target was an organ of the Serbian state that was producing propaganda, and that was why it was attacked. However, it is arguable that it was an inappropriate target, and many people in this country and elsewhere in the world took that position. If the aircraft involved had been British, a case might have been brought against the British Prime Minister and the Executive. A complaint to the ICC could have been made by Serbia that the Prime Minister was guilty of a war crime and that the case should be investigated.
The expression on the face of the hon. Member for Ilford, South (Mr. Gapes) suggests that he finds risible the idea that the Prime Minister could go on trial. It might be risible in the United Kingdom, but if something were to go wrong in the relationship between the UK and the ICC and a warrant were to be issued, it might not be so risible.