Belgium throws out law on war crimes

BELGIUM Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt took office as head of a new centre-left government that immediately agreed to replace a war crimes law which has soured Belgium’s relations with the US.

In their first major decision after being sworn in by King Albert II, the 15 government ministers agreed to supplant the 1993 law which has been used to target leaders from the US, Britain, Israel and other countries.

“Changing the universal competence law is a priority of this government,” Mr Verhofstadt said.

Under the new bill, which is expected to be approved by parliament in early August, only cases with a direct link to Belgium will be considered.

This will rule out complaints like those filed after the Iraq war against British Prime Minister Tony Blair and leading American officials headed by President George W Bush.

Mr Verhofstadt had promised to change the law after the Bush administration reacted angrily to such cases and threatened Brussels’s role as Nato headquarters.

After the inaugural meeting of the new government, Verhofstadt said abuse of the law for political ends would no longer be tolerated.

However, he said cases where the victim or suspect were Belgian citizens or residents would stand.

The existing law allows Belgian courts to hear war crimes complaints regardless of where the events occurred or the nationality of those involved.

Previous changes allowing Belgian authorities to reject cases against officials from democratic governments failed to calm US unease over the law.