Clause 12 - Right to review of delivery order
International Criminal Court Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot, Conservative)
I rise to support my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Harborough, and to suggest to the Solicitor-General that his answer is not satisfactory. He asserts that we should have no fear because of the principle of complementarity. We understand that, in foreseeable circumstances, crimes that are alleged against British citizens will be dealt with here. However, we all know that under article 17 of the treaty—``Issues of admissibility''—a case is inadmissible when is it dealt with by the nation state concerned
``unless the decision resulted from the unwillingness or inability of the State genuinely to prosecute''.
In circumstances that we cannot envisage, the United Kingdom may, for reasons that are believed to be good and sound, be unwilling to prosecute. The amendment would allow a future British Government in such circumstances to safeguard our citizens' rights and support the national interest if they believed that an unfounded case had been made that we had failed to deal with the alleged crimes according to the principle of complementarity. The amendment does not threaten the Solicitor-General's aim to incorporate the treaty into our national law, but it would provide a safeguard for a future British Government to protect the national interest if a decision of the ICC were unacceptable to them.