The Third and Fourth Sessions of the UN Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court

Abstract

The Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (Preparatory Committee or committee) held its third and fourth sessions from February 10 to 21, 1997, and August 4 to 15, 1997, bringing the world a step closer to the establishment of a permanent international criminal court (ICC). The United Nations General Assembly, on December 16, 1996, reaffirmed the mandate of the Preparatory Committee and decided that the committee would meet in four more sessions (the final two from December 1 to 12, 1997, and March 16 to April 3, 1998) “in order to complete the drafting of a widely acceptable consolidated text of a convention, to be submitted to a diplomatic conference.” It also decided that “a diplomatic conference of plenipotentiaries will be held in 1998, with a view to finalizing and adopting a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court”; the conference is now scheduled to open in Rome on June 15,1998, and to last five weeks. The General Assembly urged participation in the committee “by the largest number of States so as to promote universal support for an international criminal court” and requested that the Secretary-General establish a voluntary fund to facilitate participation in the committee and the diplomatic conference by the least developed countries.