New Clause 1 - Jurisdiction of the court
International Criminal Court Bill [Lords]
12:00 pm
Mr John Battle (Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; Leeds West, Labour)
I did not formally propose to bring forward the new clauses, but it is fair to say that we had a conversation with the Opposition in which they suggested that it made more common sense to deal with them at this juncture. We reached mutual agreement on that point, as it will enable us to raise some of the important matters discussed in the other place in the context of the Bill before us. Otherwise new clauses will be tagged on at the end, after the debate is already halfway through. That was the amicable arrangement to which we came, and why we are discussing them now.