Court won’t act on Iraq claims

THE chief prosecutor of the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal has rejected appeals to investigate allegations of war crimes by US or coalition forces in Iraq.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the complaints fell outside the jurisdiction of the newly created International Criminal Court since neither the US nor Iraq is a party to the 1998 Rome Statute, the treaty that created the court.

President George W Bush’s administration fiercely opposes the court, fearing politically motivated indictments against Americans.