US envoy attends international court meeting
Legal World
The United States attended a meeting of the International Criminal Court's management board for the first time Wednesday in a sign it has stopped shunning the world's only permanent war crimes tribunal.
The United States has not ratified the court's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, partly because of fears the court could become a forum for politically motivated prosecutions of U.S. troops.
U.S. war crimes ambassador Stephen Rapp sat as an observer near the back of the hall during the opening session of Assembly of States Parties, which is made up of the 110 countries that recognize the court's jurisdiction, and oversees its activities.
Rapp, a former chief prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, is expected to make a statement to the assembly on Thursday. He did not say what he would discuss.
He told The Associated Press his presence is a sign the Obama administration wants to "re-engage with the court" but said Monday while visiting Kenya that possible ratification by Washington of the Rome Statute is likely still years away.
Assembly President Christian Wenaweser, a diplomat from Lichtenstein, said Rapp's presence was "the most concrete expression we have seen so far that the policies in place under the past administration are changing."
Related listings
-
Profit Drops 30 Percent at U.K.’s Largest Law Firms
Legal World 11/12/2009Profit at the 100 highest-grossing U.K. law firms fell 30 percent on average during the past year as deal work declined with the recession, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP survey. Profits per partner at the top 10 U.K. firms averaged 872,00...
-
China executes 9 Uighurs over July ethnic riots
Legal World 11/09/2009Chinese state media says an initial group of nine Uighurs have been executed for taking part in July's deadly ethnic rioting in the country's far west.The China News Service reported Monday that the nine were put to death recently but gave no specifi...
-
Swiss court to assess Polanski bail appeal
Legal World 11/04/2009Roman Polanski has re-appealed to the Swiss courts to be released from prison on bail, officials said Tuesday, the latest step in the director's protracted legal battle to avoid extradition to the United States.The Swiss Criminal Court declined to co...
New Rochelle, New York Personal Injury Lawyers
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP, in New Rochelle, New York, immediately. We can answer all your questions and work with you to determine if you have the grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. The attorneys at our firm are determined to resolve even the most difficult of cases. We will work closely with you to determine the best course of action to get your claim or case resolved in the most efficient way possible. We will fight for your right to compensation! No one should have to suffer a financial burden from the result of another person’s carelessness. The attorneys at Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP will aggressively fight to ensure that justice is served on your behalf.