Legal Encounter on the International Criminal Court-Rome Statute

Supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Institute of Law at BZU, organized a legal encounter in Gaza on "International Criminal Court - Rome Statute," on 26 October 2010, in which the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Al-Azhar University, Dr. Abdul Rahman Abu Nasr, has participated.

Ms. Lena Tunisy, the Institute's coordinator in Gaza, noted that this is the second encounter within the legal encounters  program, held by the Institute of Law in Gaza, in collaboration with the Faculty of Law at Al Azhar University.

The event was attended by 48 students from the Faculty of Law - Al-Azhar University, wherein Dr. Abdel-Rahman Abu-Nasr presented an overview of the origins and history of the International Criminal Court, starting  from its inception in 1998 and its legal establishment on 1 July 2002, in accordance to the Rome Statute, which became effective as of 11 April of the same year. He added that sixty countries ratified it, referring to the mandate of this court, which is to follow-up on individuals accused of genocide, and crimes against humanity, which are prohibited acts set forth in the Rome Statute. Then, he talked about the structure of the court, consisting of three judges, and a judicial division, as well as the Office of the Prosecutor, and the registration section. He added that the mechanisms for filing a case is done through the Security Council and Member States, and the Attorney General has a limited mandate. He referred to the cases before the court such as: Darfur, Democratic Congo, Uganda, Central Africa, concluding by Goldstone's Report and to what extent it is important background, as evidences submitted to the Pre-Trial Chamber to start an investigation on the crimes of the recent Israeli war.