I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, who is unable to attend the Select Committee. I thank the Chairman and members of the committee for meeting today at short notice to consider this important international agreement, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
I am aware the committee met twice last week and at one of these meetings considered the terms of a number of other international agreements. I assure the committee that it has not been possible to commence the ratification process of the statute, including its consideration by this committee, any earlier, as a legal challenge to the outcome of the referendum of June 2001, in which the people approved an amendment to the Constitution to allow ratification, was only dismissed by the Supreme Court on 12 March, and the President only signed the necessary constitutional amendment into law last Monday, 25 March.
As the committee will be aware, yesterday the Government granted the Minister for Foreign Affairs the authority to arrange for the ratification by Ireland of the statute. The statute imposes a charge upon public funds and, therefore, in accordance with Article 29.5.2 of the Constitution, the terms of the statute must be approved by Dáil Éireann before the State may agree to be bound by them in international law.
I would like to explain to the committee why ratification of the statute is highly desirable at this time. Yesterday, the permanent mission of Ireland to the United Nations in New York reported that at least four states are now ready to ratify the statute, thus bringing the number of ratifications up to 60, the number needed for the statute to enter into force. The mission has been informed that rather than having to determine which would be the sixtieth, it is planned for all of them to deposit their instruments of ratification at the same time and to have an event to mark the occasion. This is expected to take place on 9 April. Should the Dáil approve the terms of the statute, inquiries will be made as to whether it would be possible for Ireland to participate in this proposed ceremony.
With the entry into force of the statute due to occur in the coming months, in order to enable us to fully participate in the creation of the court, and in particular to enable us to participate in the first assembly of states parties which is due to be held in September 2002, it will be necessary for Ireland to become a party to the statute in the very near future.
An additional reason for ratifying now is the prominent role which the EU has played in supporting the court. Under the terms of a common position of June 2001, the member states committed themselves to an early entry into force of the statute and to promoting its widest possible ratification. EU troikas have made representations to various states urging them to ratify the statute. The EU hopes to play a similarly supportive role in the court's creation. Ratification by Greece is imminent, meaning that Ireland will be the only EU member state not to be a party to the statute if it does not ratify it shortly.
If Ireland does not ratify during the lifetime of the current Dáil, the next opportunity to ratify may not come for a number of months. The consequence of this would be Ireland's isolation from its EU partners and our inability to participate in the assembly of states parties.
The Rome Statute is the product of several years of careful drafting. During this time, developments in international human rights and humanitarian law, as well as the experience of the ad hoc international criminal tribunals, were all drawn upon in order to create the instrument we are considering today. The statute provides for the independent investigation of atrocities and for the alleged perpetrators of these atrocities to be tried in a fair manner. Those found guilty by the court can be punished and their victims compensated. It is hoped that the existence of the court will act as a deterrent to those who would otherwise violate human rights and humanitarian law with impunity. In cases where crimes such as genocide are nevertheless committed, for the first time an international judicial organ will exist to investigate, prosecute and punish the most serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
I would like to comment on the Government's decision to ratify the statute prior to the enactment of implementing legislation. Ratification at this time is possible as obligations requiring legislation to implement will only arise for the State when the court becomes operational in 2003. As a comprehensive draft scheme of the implementing legislation has been produced it can reasonably be expected that this legislation will be enacted by this time. The decision of the Government to seek the approval of the Dáil of the terms of the statute at this time is based on the unique nature of the statute, including the fact that its ratification enjoys cross-party support in the Oireachtas as well as a democratic mandate as expressed by the people in the referendum. It is not, therefore, envisaged that ratification will create a precedent for derogation from the normal rule that the State may ratify international agreements only after implementing measures are in place.
As the statute is before this committee because it involves a charge upon public funds, it would be appropriate for me to comment on the monetary contributions Ireland will be obliged to make to the court in the coming years. The committee will be aware that the statute provides, in articles 115 and 116, that the expenses of the court and of the assembly of states parties will be provided by, inter alia, assessed contributions made by states parties. The estimated costs for the first year of the court are based on the report of the working group on a draft budget for the first financial year of the court, from September 2001. Contributions from states parties will be sought after the assembly of states parties adopts the budget. Ireland’s contribution can be estimated at approximately €109,915 in the event of a non-referral of a case to the court in the first year, or €210,006 in the event of a referral of a case.
For the purposes of comparison, the committee may be interested to know that our contribution for 2002 to the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were €294,060 and €363,980 respectively. It should be noted that contributions by a state to UN organisations are sometimes difficult to estimate with accuracy. All member states contribute according to an agreed scale of assessments reflecting their percentage share of global GNP. Ireland's current assessment is 0.297% and will rise to 0.298% in 2003. The estimate of Ireland's contribution to this fund is based on this scale of assessment and on those of the 56 states which have ratified the statute to date. However, by the time contributions fall due, additional states will have ratified the statute, thereby reducing Ireland's share of the court's costs.
I would like to conclude by reiterating Ireland's long held policy on the International Criminal Court. Successive Governments have been committed to making the establishment of the court a priority of our human rights foreign policy. Ireland was an active participant in the conference at which the Rome Statute was adopted and, as a member of the "like-minded group", worked hard to ensure that the court would have the necessary powers to be effective in enforcing international human rights and humanitarian law. Ireland has the distinction of being one of the very few states to have held a popular referendum on the ICC, and, as colleagues will recall, the ratification by Ireland of the statute was approved by 64.22% of the electorate.
The creation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court will represent one of the most important developments in international law since the end of the Second World War. The existence of the court will provide a mechanism whereby the most serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law can be investigated, prosecuted and punished. Ratification of the Rome Statute by Ireland will allow us to affirm once again our support for this development. I therefore ask the committee to recommend to the Dáil that it approve the terms of the statute.