JURIST - Paper Chase: International Criminal Court expects trials to begin in 2006

[JURIST] The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court [official website; JURIST news archive] announced Monday that the Hague-based court expects its first round of trials to start as early as mid-2006. In connection with this week's meeting of states [official website] that have signed the Rome Statute [Rome Statute, PDF text] setting up the tribunal, Luis Moreno-Ocampo released a document [PDF text] outlining the court's goals for next year, and urged participating governments to demonstrate greater support for the institution by strengthening their infrastructures to ensure maximum cooperation. The court was established in 2002 to try individuals for serious international crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The ICC issued its first set of arrest warrants early last year for members of the notorious Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army, and at the behest of the UN Security Council has initiated investigations into charges of war crimes and genocide in Darfur [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

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