Aug 21, 2006

International Criminal Court: UNPO Welcomes Latest Ratification of APIC (Agreement on Privileges an


On 2 August 2006, Albania deposited its instrument of ratification of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the ICC (APIC), bringing the total number of ratifications to 40. UNPO welcomes the ratification of this agreement which provides privileges and immunities that, for the most part, are similar to those enjoyed by UN bodies and other international organisations.
On 2 August 2006, Albania deposited its instrument of ratification of the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the ICC (APIC), bringing the total number of ratifications to 40.

The Agreement on Privileges and Immunities - an agreement laid out in Article 48 of the Rome Statute - provides privileges and immunities which, for the most part, are similar to those enjoyed by UN bodies and other international organisations, and required a minimum of 10 states' ratification for it to become binding, in accordance with Article 35 of the Rome Statute. While Article 48 of the Rome Statute addresses these privileges and immunities in general, the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities defines these protections and related obligations on States Parties in greater detail.

The Agreement was adopted by the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) on 9 September 2002, and secured 62 signatories before the deadline for signature passed on 30 June. All States, regardless of whether they have ratified the Rome Statute, are encouraged to ratify or accede to the Agreement in order to widen its reach.

Through ratification of the Rome Statute, all ICC States Parties are bound to respect the privileges and immunities for Court officials and documents. These privileges and immunities guarantee that States allow the Court to function in an independent and unconditional manner.

In addition to providing the Court with privileges and immunities as an international organization, the Agreement provides the following persons with privileges and immunities:

• Representatives of States participating in the Assembly and its subsidiary organs and representatives of intergovernmental organizations (Art. 13);
• Representatives of States participating in the proceedings of the Court (Art. 14);
• Judges, Prosecutor, Deputy Prosecutors and Registrar (Art. 15);
• Deputy Registrar, the staff of the Office of the Prosecutor and the staff of the Registry (Art. 16);
• Personnel recruited locally and not otherwise covered by the present Agreement (Art. 17);
• Counsel and persons assisting defence counsel (Art. 18);
• Witnesses (Art. 19);
• Victims (Art. 20);
• Experts (Art. 21); and
• Other persons required to be present at the seat of the Court (Art. 22).

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court launched a campaign urging the States to ratify the Agreement. It underlines the urgent need for States to ratify and implement the Agreement, which is a separate international treaty open for signature and ratification by all states, not only by States Parties to the ICC. Only through ratification and implementation of this treaty can states guarantee that their officials are aware of the actual scope and realities of these privileges and immunities and how to apply them in concrete situations.

For more information on the Campaign, please see: http://www.iccnow.org/?mod=apic