Karl - first ICC judge to be sworn in

TRINIDADIAN Queen's Counsel Karl Hudson-Phillips was the first judge of the newly-inaugurated International Criminal Court (ICC) to be sworn in at a gala ceremony at the Knight's Hall of the Dutch Parliament in the Hague, Kingdom of the Netherlands, yesterday afternoon.

Being the most senior of the 18 judges, Hudson-Phillips, the President of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago, was called to the podium where he took the oath of office before 550 guests which included President Arthur NR Robinson and the TT contingent. After the 18 judges were sworn in, Canadian diplomat Philippe Kirsch was elected President of ICC. The judges and guests were asked to be seated in the 13th century building by 1 pm (8 am TT time). Her Majesty Queen Beatrix arrived at 2.25 pm for the ceremony. After the judges were duly sworn in, Dr Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, showered praises on President Robinson for the role he played in getting the United Nations to place the idea of the ICC on the agenda of the General Assembly.

Robinson, the then Prime Minister of TT, called upon the UN in 1989 to establish the ICC to deal with transnational crimes. When he was sworn in as President in 1997, he told the gathering that he was going to pursue the idea of the court - a matter which took him to Rome to give support to the ICC. At the end of the formal ceremony, a reception was held where President Robinson and his son David met Queen Beatrix. He also met most of the ICC judges including Hudson-Phillips, who was his deputy political leader when he was Prime Minister and political leader of the NAR during 1986 and 1991. The ICC judges, who were elected in February in New York, will try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Canada played a central role in efforts to establish the court. Kirsch, who was elected from among 43 candidates for the 18-judge positions, served as chairman of the main negotiating committee at the Rome conference that adopted the ICC's statute. He also chaired the 1999-2002 preparatory commission, which drafted documents such as the court's rules of procedure and evidence. The world's first permanent war crimes court was launched as Kirsch and the 17 other judges swore on oath to administer justice "impartially and conscientiously." With Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan looking on, the seven women and 11 men pledged the oath one-by-one and took a seat at a long table in the Knight's Hall of the Dutch Parliament. Presidents, heads of government and foreign ministers were among the 550 guests attending the celebrations, but the gathering lacked an official representative from Washington, which has pulled out of the treaty establishing the court.

Human rights organisations hailed the formal start of the court as a message to tyrants that they will be held accountable. But there also were fears voiced by the United States and Israel that the  court would be used by their political enemies despite built-in safeguards. The chairman of the organisation of member states issued a reassurance to critics. The court will apply the law equally to all, and "is not the world's crucible for vengeance," said Prince Zeid  Al-Hussein of Jordan, before administering the oath to the judges. It was the first public event for the International Criminal Court, which came into existence last July 1 after 60 countries ratified the 1998 Rome Treaty. The treaty was signed by then-president Bill Clinton, but was renounced by his successor, George W. Bush.