Members of Parliament, academics, and experts gathered to discuss how best to contribute to the formation of international law in the face of the current and multiple challenges it faces.
The Parliamentary Rapid Response Team (PARRT) publicly condemns the vile assassination of former Afghan Member of Parliament, Ms. Mursal Nabiada, by the Taliban regime.
PGA operates under the political direction of the Executive Committee and the International Council, with technical and legal assistance from the Secretariat, which is based in New York and has an office in The Hague.
PGA members see the PGA Secretariat as a natural extension of their own parliamentary teams, relying on the Secretariat for advice and technical assistance.
PGA organized two critical side events on 8 December, which provided concrete reflections on serious issues faced by the Rome Statute system. Both events gathered high-level participation from the ICC and States representatives, as well as other civil society organizations.
The discussion analysed the main problems hindering States from ratifying the Rome Statute and its Amendments with examples of successes as well as challenges experienced, elucidated from the perspective of States’ representatives and Parliamentarians from three countries.
The International Criminal Court (ICC or Court) must evolve to enhance its legitimacy, efficacy, and ability to tackle the challenges of today’s world.
The creation of the Rome Statute system rests on the premise that the primary competence and authority to initiate investigations of international crimes rests with States national jurisdictions.
Parliamentarians play a quintessential role in the ICC system and have political as well as legislative prerogatives that can advance the rule of law worldwide.
This side event offered an important opportunity to facilitate discussion among States and other stakeholders on identifying a way forward to produce guidelines or criteria on merit-based and transparent national nomination procedures.
Former MPs propose a cross-party consensus within this 53rd Parliament to adopt legislation ratifying the 2010 Kampala Amendment to the 1998 Rome Statute that would make ‘aggression’ a crime in NZ domestic law.