Saddam's trial

Member

What are the upsides/downsides to his trial being in Iraq or at the Hague--anyone know?

Gone Fishin

Excelent

Member

Iraq v The Hague
At the Hague--France will retain Johnny Cochran to represent Sadaam

Master of Prissface

I would think the death penalty issue would be the biggie, no? Iraq has already said they'd consider it but I think they have to wait til after the occupation when they have their own government, and I believe that the UN does not sanction the DP.

I vote for Iraq, personally. Wink

Member

The Pinball

Pyromaniac

I don't like the idea of trying him in Iraq because if ever an opportunity for him to escape existed, it would be there. I don't know if security could be tight enough for an Iraqi trial.

my boys could swim

I think he should be tried by both an international court, and by the Iraqi people.

As I was watching the stuff on tv the other day, the one guy said they keep finding tons and tons of incriminating evidence on this guy. He was worse than they knew before. Shocked

Member

I think they said most of his crimes were committed in Iraq so it likely would be there. But what about Kuwait? I guess my question is, what determines whether something goes to the Hague?

Adjunct

Iraq. By his own people by their own laws. God if the UN gets involved he will get off on a technicality or something.

Excelent

From the International Court of Justice Website

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its seat is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). It began work in 1946, when it replaced the Permanent Court of International Justice which had functioned in the Peace Palace since 1922. It operates under a Statute largely similar to that of its predecessor, which is an integral part of the Charter of the United Nations.

Functions of the Court

The Court has a dual role: to settle in accordance with international law the legal disputes submitted to it by States, and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized international organs and agencies.

Composition

The Court is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council sitting independently of each other. It may not include more than one judge of any nationality. Elections are held every three years for one-third of the seats, and retiring judges may be re-elected. The Members of the Court do not represent their governments but are independent magistrates.

The judges must possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices, or be jurists of recognized competence in international law. The composition of the Court has also to reflect the main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.

When the Court does not include a judge possessing the nationality of a State party to a case, that State may appoint a person to sit as a judge ad hoc for the purpose of the case.

The present composition of the Court is as follows: President Shi Jiuyong (China); Vice-President Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar); Judges Gilbert Guillaume (France); Abdul G. Koroma (Sierra Leone) ; Vladlen S. Vereshchetin (Russian Federation); Rosalyn Higgins (United Kingdom); Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela); Pieter H. Kooijmans (Netherlands); Francisco Rezek (Brazil); Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan); Thomas Buergenthal (United States of America); Nabil Elaraby (Egypt); Hisashi Owada (Japan); Bruno Simma (Germany) and Peter Tomka (Slovakia).

The Registrar of the Court is Mr. Philippe Couvreur, of Belgian nationality, and the Deputy-Registrar is Mr. Jean-Jacques Arnaldez, of French nationality.

Contentious cases between States

The Parties

Only States may apply to and appear before the Court. The Member States of the United Nations (at present numbering 191) are so entitled.

Jurisdiction

The Court is competent to entertain a dispute only if the States concerned have accepted its jurisdiction in one or more of the following ways:

by the conclusion between them of a special agreement to submit the dispute to the Court;
by virtue of a jurisdictional clause, i.e., typically, when they are parties to a treaty containing a provision whereby, in the event of a disagreement over its interpretation or application, one of them may refer the dispute to the Court. Several hundred treaties or conventions contain a clause to such effect;
through the reciprocal effect of declarations made by them under the Statute whereby each has accepted the jurisdiction of the Court as compulsory in the event of a dispute with another State having made a similar declaration. The declarations of 64 States are at present in force, a number of them having been made subject to the exclusion of certain categories of dispute.
In cases of doubt as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, it is the Court itself which decides.

Procedure

The procedure followed by the Court in contentious cases is defined in its Statute, and in the Rules of Court adopted by it under the Statute. The latest version of the Rules dates from 5 December 2000. The proceedings include a written phase, in which the parties file and exchange pleadings, and an oral phase consisting of public hearings at which agents and counsel address the Court. As the Court has two official languages (English and French) everything written or said in one language is translated into the other.

After the oral proceedings the Court deliberates in camera and then delivers its judgment at a public sitting. The judgment is final and without appeal. Should one of the States involved fail to comply with it, the other party may have recourse to the Security Council of the United Nations.

The Court discharges its duties as a full court but, at the request of the parties, it may also establish a special chamber. The Court constituted such a chamber in 1982 for the first time, formed a second one in 1985, constituted two in 1987 and two more in 2002. A Chamber of Summary Procedure is elected every year by the Court in accordance with its Statute. In July 1993 the Court also established a seven-member Chamber to deal with any environmental cases falling within its jurisdiction

Since 1946 the Court has delivered 77 Judgments on disputes concerning inter alia land frontiers and maritime boundaries, territorial sovereignty, the non-use of force, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, diplomatic relations, hostage-taking, the right of asylum, nationality, guardianship, rights of passage and economic rights.

Sources of applicable law

The Court decides in accordance with international treaties and conventions in force, international custom, the general principles of law and, as subsidiary means, judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists.

Advisory Opinions

The advisory procedure of the Court is open solely to international organizations. The only bodies at present authorized to request advisory opinions of the Court are five organs of the United Nations and 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations family.

On receiving a request, the Court decides which States and organizations might provide useful information and gives them an opportunity of presenting written or oral statements. The Court's advisory procedure is otherwise modelled on that for contentious proceedings, and the sources of applicable law are the same. In principle the Court's advisory opinions are consultative in character and are therefore not binding as such on the requesting bodies. Certain instruments or regulations can, however, provide in advance that the advisory opinion shall be binding.

Since 1946 the Court has given 24 Advisory Opinions, concerning inter alia admission to United Nations membership, reparation for injuries suffered in the service of the United Nations, territorial status of South-West Africa (Namibia) and Western Sahara, judgments rendered by international administrative tribunals, expenses of certain United Nations operations, applicability of the United Nations Headquarters Agreement, the status of human rights rapporteurs, and the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons.

Member

His crimes were mostly committed against the Iraqi people. That should answer your question.

Saddam's trial

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