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Presentation of opinions regarding the bill draft on Punishment of Crimes within the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court [2003] KRNHRC 25 (1 February 2003)

The government of the Republic of Korea signed the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, which had been adopted in July 1998, in 2000
and ratified it in November 2002. It became effective in the Republic of Korea
on February 1, 2003. Accordingly, there arose a need for legislation of a law
for the implementation of the Rome Statute within Korea. The Ministry of
Justice prepared the Bill Draft on Punishment of Crimes within the Jurisdiction
of the International Criminal Court (hereinafter referred to as the Bill), and
asked the Commission to submit an opinion on the bill on July 16, 2003.
The major content of the bill was about providing for genocide, crimes
against humanity, and war crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the
International Criminal Court, and cooperation with the International Criminal
Court and procedures of such cooperation.

The bill faithfully covered relevant crimes provided by the Rome Statute.
However the bill fails to specifically clarify acts to be prohibited, and what core
acts in observance of humanitarian principles are.

The Commission submitted its opinion to the Ministry of Justice that the term
`other non humanitarian acts' of the paragraph regarding `crimes against
humanity' is too general and unclear. Thus, this sentence should be deleted and
the relevant provision should be made clear; provision on punishment should
be added in order to prevent abuse of indictment and political power under the
bill; and concerning war crimes included in the Rome Statute but not included
in the bill, in particular, provisions to protect civilians, peace keeping forces and
humanitarian assistance under the Geneva Conventions should be included in
the bill. The Ministry of Justice is considering the opinion submitted by the
Commission.