New Clause 1 - Jurisdiction of the court
International Criminal Court Bill [Lords]
12:30 pm
Mr Edward Garnier (Harborough, Conservative)
I do not want to distract my hon. Friend from her argument, but I can suggest an answer. The British soldier would, under the complementarity rule, be subject to the British courts first. If that proved unsatisfactory, the ICC would have jurisdiction. If the French soldier committed a war crime, he would be subject to French national law and would be tried under the French courts in Paris. He would not subsequently be extradited to the ICC if the ICC thought that the French had dealt with the matter unsatisfactorily. That is the answer to my hon. Friend's question. The Minister could have answered it, but was not perhaps up to speed.