Doc. 9275
5 November 2001

Establishment of an international criminal court to try persons responsible for acts of terrorism

Motion for a resolution

presented by Mr Bindig and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

1.       The Assembly refers to its Resolution 1258 (2001) and Recommendation 1534 (2001) on democracies facing terrorism, in which it considers that the future International Criminal Court is the appropriate institution to consider acts of terrorism.

2.       It accordingly hopes that the 60 ratifications needed for establishment of the International Criminal Court will be forthcoming in the very near future.

3.       That Court will, however, be unable to try the crimes which led the Assembly to adopt the two above texts, since its Statute provides that its jurisdiction extends only to crimes committed after the coming into force of the Statute itself.

4.       Moreover, there is disagreement as to whether Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which defines crimes against humanity, can be interpreted as covering terrorism.

5.       The lack of a definition of terrorism is certainly one of the factors which contribute to this disagreement.

6.       Accordingly, until the International Criminal Court begins to function, and its jurisdiction is possibly extended to terrorism, the Assembly considers that the United Nations should, as a transitional measure, establish without delay an international criminal court to try persons responsible for acts of terrorism, as it did in the case of the persons responsible for the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda.

7.       The Assembly accordingly calls for the establishment, as soon as possible, of an international criminal court, with a status and mandate defined by the United Nations, to try persons responsible for acts of terrorism.

Signed : ¹

Bindig, Germany, SOC

Akçali, Turkey, EDG

Arabadjiev, Bulgaria, SOC

van Ardenne – van der Hoeven, Netherlands, EPP/CD

Clerfayt, Belgium, LDR

Contestabile, Italy, EPP/CD

Daly, Ireland, LDR

Jaskierna, Poland, SOC

Jurgens, Netherlands, SOC

Khunov, Ukraine, UEL

Kresák, Slovakia, LDR

Kroupa, Czech Republic, EPP/CD

Lintner, Germany, EPP/CD

Lippelt, Germany, LDR

López González, Spain, SOC

Monteiro, Portugal, SOC

Shishlov, Russia, LDR

Vanoost, Belgium, SOC

Wohlwend, Liechtenstein, EPP/CD

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group