Controversial world court gets first prosecutor

Despite continued opposition from the United States, the International Criminal Court installed its first prosecutor today, paving the way for investigations into alleged perpetrators of war crimes across the world.

Argentine human rights lawyer Luis Moreno Ocampo, who gained renown for his prosecutorial work against the former military dictatorship of his country in the 1980s, took an oath before the court’s 18 judges during a public court session at the Peace Palace in The Hague.

The court, modelled on the ad-hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed after the tribunal officially came into existence on July 1, 2002.

Ocampo was unanimously nominated in April by the court’s 90 member countries, including the entire European Union, Canada and Australia. He will establish the court’s prosecution policy and decide which cases should go to trial.

Possibly more important, his performance will influence perceptions around the world of whether the court is seen as fair and impartial.

Prosecutors will only be able to prosecute crimes in member countries, unless asked to intervene either by the United Nations Security Council or a non-member country.

Ocampo swore “to perform my duties and exercise my powers as prosecutor of the International Criminal Court honourably, faithfully, impartially and conscientiously, and that I will respect the confidentially of investigations and prosecutions.”

The court has received around 400 credible complaints alleging war crimes since it opened last year, from all over the world, officials said.

The US government has rejected the court’s authority due to worries the United States may be the target of politically motivated prosecutions. Seeking to undermine the court’s power, the Bush administration has signed bilateral treaties with 37 countries which have agreed not to hand over American citizens to the court.