16.07.2008 - Czech Senate recognises International Criminal Court
The Czech parliament was reluctant to pass the agreement due to the doubts whether it is consistent with the Czech constitutional order.
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To be approved, the agreement should be supported by the constitutional majority in both houses of the Czech parliament which is three-fifths of deputies in the 200-member Chamber of Deputies and three-fifths of the 81-member Senate.
However, many Czech lawmakers, especially from the the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the junior opposition Communist Party (KSCM), have raised objections to the agreement.
The agreement was backed by 60 out of the 70 senators present today.
The Czech Republic is the last EU member not to have ratified the agreement, though it signed it as early as April 1999.
Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has said it is "politically hardly tenable not to have a clear and legitimate position on the ICC."
Since 2002, the ICC has been dealing with the most serious international crimes such as crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
Schwarzenberg said even after the Czech Republic joined the agreement, Czech citizens would still be protected by the state.
"Their release to the ICC could only happen if the Czech Republic were unable to ensure their prosecution with its own forces," he added.
At present, the ICC focuses on serious crimes in the African countries Sudan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic.
On Monday, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo charged Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with masterminding genocide in Darfur as the first sitting head of state.
(Ceske Noviny)
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