INTRODUCTORY NOTE: THE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

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1 INTRODUCTORY NOTE: THE ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT José Luis DE LA CUESTA * / Reynald OTTENHOF ** Presentation The Association Internationale de Droit Pénal (AIDP-IAPL) finds its immediate precedent in the Internationale Kriminalistische Vereinigung, established in 1889 by Franz von Liszt, Gerard van Hamel and Adolphe Prins. At a time where criminality was rising and the most usual proposed answers were the approval of legal reforms in order to multiply and expand the incriminations and to increase and intensify the punishments, the establishment of the Internationale Kriminalistische Vereinigung pursued a double aim: - rationalizing the criminal policy approach, and - assuring fundamental penal guarantees, both of the individuals and the society. 1 Although the First World War put an end to these first efforts, on March 24, 1924, the Association Internationale de Droit Pénal / International Association of Penal Law was created in a certain way as a reestablishment of the Internationale Kriminalistische Vereinigung, with an explicit purpose: to establish a scientific association, a forum of colleagues, academics and practitioners of criminal justice, in order to promote meetings and exchanges, and to influence in a * AIDP-IAPL s President. Professor of Criminal Law of the University of the Basque Country (Spain). ** Honorary Vice-President of the AIDP-IAPL. Professor em. of the University of Nantes (France). Director of the Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal / International Review of Penal Law. 1 M.Cherif Bassiouni, AIDP: International Association of Penal Law: Over a Century of Dedication to Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Recueil de l Association Internationale de droit pénal / Compendium of the International Association of Penal Law, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 18 (1999), p. 39 ff.

2 14 International Review of Penal Law (vol. 81) positive and constructive way the development of criminal policy in the different countries of the world. 2 Today, the AIDP-IAPL has a status of consultant before the United Nations and the Council of Europe, and considers that criminality, its prevention and suppression, must be approached not only from the point of view of the scientific study of crime and the criminals, but also from the perspective of the juridical guarantees of society and individuals. These are in this sense the main aims of the AIDP-IAPL: - the study of the main systems of criminal law, both from the substantive and the procedural point of view, and also taking into account the international criminal law perspective; - to promote the progress of legislation and institutions in order to assure a penal justice more and more human and efficient. - Activities and programs The Association maintains excellent relations of cooperation and brotherhood with four other major associations, active, each one from its own perspective, in the field of penal and criminological sciences: the International Society of Criminology, the International Society of Social Defence, the Penal and Penitentiary International Foundation and the World Society of Victimology. The history of the AIDP / IAPL is rich in activities and working groups. The AIDP- IAPL develops its activity through particular programs and, especially, through the National Groups. Its contribution (and the contributions of its national groups and its most eminent members) continues to be fundamental for the modernization of penal legislation and criminal justice of different countries and, particularly, for the development of International Criminal Law. The Association has a particular section of Young Penalists and maintains a privileged relationship with the Istituto Superiore Internazionale di Scienze Criminali (International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences) (ISISC, Siracuse, Italy), promoting equally important programs and projects at the international level. 2 M. Cherif Bassiouni, ibidem, p. 39 f. Paul Cornil, Réflexion sur le cinquantenaire de l Association Internationale de droit pénal, REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, 46, 1975, p. 387 et s. (1975). Leon Radzinovicz, The Roots of the International Association of Criminal Law and their signification, CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH REPORTS (Max Planck Institut pour le droit pénal étranger et international n 45, 1991); Le centenaire de l Union/Association Internationale de Droit Pénal, REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, 61, 1-2 (1990); M. Cherif Bassiouni, L Associazione Internazionale de Diritto Penale : , TRATTATO DI CRIMINOLOGIA, MEDICINA CRIMINOLOGICA E PSICHIATRIA FORENSE 79 (Franco Ferracuti ed. 1987).

3 Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal (vol. 81) 15 Last year, two important Prizes were created by the AIDP-IAPL: the Hans- Heinrich Jescheck Prize and the Siracusa Prize. The Hans-Heinrich Jescheck Prize, established in collaboration with the Max-Planck Institute of international and comparative Criminal Law and Criminology (Freiburg, Germany), recognizes a life of original and long-term higher scientific research with incidence in comparative criminal law and/or in international or supranational criminal law (and criminal procedure). The aim of the Siracusa Prize, established in agreement with the ISISC, is to award an original contribution in criminal law of high scientific value by a young penalist, member of the AIDP-IAPL. - Conferences and Congresses The national and regional Conferences of the AIDP-IAPL are organized in order to promote exchanges among those professors, judges, magistrates, civil servants and officials whose professional activity is to study and apply criminal law in order to share and facilitate the debates on issues of the highest actuality. With the same purpose the AIDP-IAPL also organizes World Conferences every five years. Nevertheless, the Congresses are those scientific meetings organized at a global level by the Association that deserve a particular consideration. The preparation and celebration of the International Congresses of Penal Law whose proceedings are published (since 1926) by the official organ of the Association, the Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal / International Review of Penal Law / Revista Internacional de Derecho Penal have a particularly relevant position in the AIDP / IAPL s life. On the occasion of the Congress, the General Assembly of the Association takes place, and the different boards of the Association are elected. Moreover, it is through the Congresses, preceded by the four Preparatory Colloquia, that the official position of the Association on very fundamental and contemporary issues concerning the theoretical and practical development of the different branches of Penal Law and Criminal Policy is adopted. Following the AIDP / IAPL s methodology, the preparation of a Congress which takes place every five years 3 requires important work that involves the whole Association. The Board of Directors first establishes the general topic of the Congress and the particular issues of each section, and designates the General 3 Brussels (26-29 July 1926); Bucharest (6-12 October 1929); Palermo (3-8 April 1933); Paris (26-31 July 1937); Geneva (28-31 July 1947); Rome (27 September - 3 October 1953); Athens (26 September - 2 October 1957); Lisbon (21-27 September 1961); The Hague (23-30 August 1964); Rome (29 September - 5 October 1969); Budapest (9-14 September 1974); Hamburg (16-22 September 1979); Cairo (1-7 October 1984); Vienna (2-7 October 1989); Rio de Janeiro (4-10 September 1994); Budapest (5-11 September 1999); Beijing (12-19 September 2004); Istanbul (20 27 September 2009).

4 16 International Review of Penal Law (vol. 81) Reporters and the National Groups responsible for the Preparatory Colloquia. Among the preparatory activities of each Congress, the effort developed in the Preparatory Colloquia by the reporters designated by the Association s National Groups is fundamental. They have to answer the questionnaire elaborated by the General Reporter following the general comments on the issue prepared in collaboration with the Scientific Commission of the AIDP / IAPL from the point of view of their respective national legislation and the solutions eventually adopted by it, and to take part in the general discussion in order to approve the Resolution and recommendation drafts proposed by the scientific community to the legislators and administrators of criminal justice, in order to establish (or improve) the juridical and criminal policy treatment of the studied problem. The proceedings of the Preparatory Colloquia are published by the Revue before the Congress. Through the International Congresses the AIDP-IAPL has already approached fundamental issues concerning criminal law, criminal procedural law and international criminal law, approving important resolutions whose influence at the international and national level is not difficult to perceive. Precious treasure for our Association, the resolutions adopted by the different Congresses represent the legacy of the efforts and ideas shared over a long time period by a large majority of penalists, theoreticians, professionals and experts committed to the development of a penal justice more humane and efficient (Art. 2.1 By-laws). Notwithstanding the political and social transformations inherent in the time elapsed, most of the resolutions still constitute useful guidelines for the orientation and development of the important efforts that the international community and the different countries display in the penal field. 4 - Publications Since 1924 the AIDP-IAPL has published the Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal / International Review of Penal Law. It is the official organ of the AIDP-IAPL and appears presently twice a year with two double volumes. In 1976 the AIDP-IAPL also created a collection named Nouvelles Études Pénales, devoted to the publication of the results of the working groups, committees of experts and colloquia organized by the Association, the ISISC or the National Groups. 4 See J.L.de la Cuesta (ed.), Resolutions of the Congresses of the International Association of Penal Law ( ), NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, 21, Erès Toulouse, For the resolutions of the XVIIIth Congress (2009) See Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal /International Review of Penal Law / Revista Internacional de Derecho Penal, vol. 80,

5 Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal (vol. 81) 17 More recently, in the AIDP-IAPL s website an electronic review has been opened: the ReAIDP / e-riapl (Revue électronique de l AIDP / Electronic Review of the IAPL / Revista electrónica de la AIDP). It publishes those original contributions in English, French or Spanish having obtained a favorable evaluation from the editorial committee. The establishment of an International Criminal Court 1. From its own establishment the development of international criminal law has always been one of the most important purposes of the AIDP-IAPL. The efforts of distinguished members and presidents of the Association (as, for instance, Vespasian V. Pella, Jean Graven, Hans-Heinrich Jeschek and M.Cherif Bassiouni) have had in this field a great importance, due to their contributions to the elaboration and development of decisive international instruments with that aim. The Association has always been very active in the search of efficient systems of prosecution of the perpetrators of international crimes. In this sense the establishment of an international penal jurisdiction appeared as a star project on the occasion of the First International Congress of the AIDP-IAPL, held in Brussels in And from this Congress on, many activities, publications, scientific meetings, and expert committees took place, organized either directly by our Association or in collaboration with the ISISC, particularly under the presidency of M.Cherif Bassiouni ( ). In effect, on the occasion of the Plenipotentiary Conference of the United Nations that led to the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome, July 17, 1998), 5 our former President assumed by nomination the Presidency of the ICC Statute s Drafting Committee. On the other hand, both at the International Congress of Rio de Janeiro (1994) and at the Budapest Congress (1999) two important resolutions were adopted concerning establishment of the International Criminal Court. 6 5 R. Ottenhof, La conférence diplomatique des Plénipotentiaires des Nations Unies sur la création d une Cour Pénale Internationale, REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, 68, 3-4, 1997 p f. Cour Pénale Internationale, Ratification et mise en œuvre dans les législations nationales, Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal 2000, 1-2; M. Cherif Bassiouni, THE STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY (1998); M. Cherif Bassiouni, Negotiating the Treaty of Rome on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, 32 CORNELL INT L L. J. 443 (1999); Roy S. Lee, The Rome Conference and its Contributions to International Law, in THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: THE MAKING OF THE ROME STATUTE, ISSUES, NEGOTIATIONS, RESULTS 1-40 (Roy S. Lee ed., 1999). Further comments, Otto Triffterer, Article 1: The Court, in COMMENTARY ON THE ROME STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT OBSERVER S NOTES, ARTICLE BY ARTICLE (Otto Triffterer ed., 1999). 6 RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONGRESSES OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PENAL LAW ( )(José Luis de la Cuesta ed., 2009), pp.172 ff. and 190.

6 18 International Review of Penal Law (vol. 81) It is easy to understand how important in the life of the Association is the first July 2002, the date of the entrance into force of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. According to Article 126 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, the entrance into force was subordinated to the deposit of the 60th ratification instrument, and it was celebrated in the Ceremony held in New York on April 11, Only four years after the adoption of the Statute, and against all the pessimist previsions of many specialists, 66 countries had already ratified the Statute of the Court at that date. 2. The role developed by the AIDP-IAPL, since 1924, towards the establishment of an international criminal court merits not to be forgotten and must be underlined. The hope of peace born after the First World War was short-term. Inherent to the emergence of the totalitarian regimes were the increasing threats of conflict. This was a dark period for the illustrated penalists, who assisted powerless to the advent and expansion of repressive systems, full of hegemonic ambitions and founded on principles contrary to human rights. In this climate the Association insisted on the need of developing international criminal law, paying a particular attention to the criminal responsibility of the perpetrators of international crimes. 7 7 See in particular: Jean Graven, LE DIFFICILE PROGRÈS DU RÈGNE DE LA JUSTICE ET DE LA PAIX INTERNATIONALE PAR LE DROIT: DES ORIGINES À LA SOCIÉTÉ DES NATIONS (1970). See equally M. Cherif Bassiouni, A DRAFT INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL CODE AND A DRAFT STATUTE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL (1987); M. Cherif Bassiouni, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW: A DRAFT INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL CODE (1980) (translated to French, Spanish and Hungarian); M. Cherif Bassiouni, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW (3 vols., 2nd ed revised 1999); M. Cherif Bassiouni, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW (2d rev. ed 1999); M. Cherif Bassiouni and Ved. P. Nanda, A TREATISE ON INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW, (2 vol., 1973); M. Cherif Bassiouni, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW: DIGEST / INDEX (1985); M. Cherif Bassiouni, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW CONVENTIONS AND THEIR PENAL PROVISIONS (1998); Draft Statute International Criminal Tribunal, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 9 (M. Cherif Bassiouni ed., 1989); Draft Statute International Criminal Tribunal, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 10 (M. Cherif Bassiouni ed., 1993); Commentaries on the International Law Commission 1991 Draft Code on the Peace and Security of Mankind, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 11 (M. Cherif Bassiouni ed., 1993); Crimes by Government Officials, Roundtable of the XVth International Congress of Penal Law, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 12 (Helmut Epp and Abdel Azim Wazir ed., 1995); The International Criminal Court: Observations and Issues Before the Preparatory Committee and Administrative and Financial Implications, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 13 (M. Cherif Bassiouni ed., 1997); Observations on the Consolidated ICC Text Before the Final Session of the Preparatory Committee s Text to the Diplomatic Conference, Rome, July 15-July 17, 1998, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 17 ter (Leila Sadat Wexler ed., 1998); Reigning in Impunity for International Crimes and Serious Violations of Fundamental Rights: Proceedings of the

7 Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal (vol. 81) 19 Among the members of the Association who were particularly active in the development of international criminal law, President Vespasian V. Pella occupies a position of first order. Ministerial representative of Romania before the League of Nations, he played an important role in the drafting and the adoption of the Convention for the prevention and punishment of terrorism and of the Convention for the Creation of an International Criminal Court; both of which were opened for signature at Geneva, in 1937 (November 16). 8 In fact, the efforts developed by the League of Nations towards the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court were limited to the enforcement of the Terrorism Convention. 9 But already in 1925, the International Association of Penal Law, together with the International Law Association and the Interparliamentary Union, had elaborated a first world project on the establishment of a Permanent International Criminal Court. Nevertheless, due to the less favorable political climate that reigned in that moment, close to the advent of the Second World War, the League of Nations efforts did not succeed. On the other hand, the activity of the Association was suspended during the conflict and the Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal did not appear between 1940 and Once the war finished, new efforts in favor of the establishment of a permanent international penal jurisdiction took place. 10 The presence of the Association was clear and active in the Ad hoc Tribunals: the International Military Tribunal of Nuremberg, established in 1945, and the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, established in Tokyo in Henri Donnedieu de Vabres, author of important works on international criminal law 11 and one of the founders of the Association, 12 was one of the four judges of Siracusa Conference September 1997, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 14 (Christopher C. Joyner and M. Cherif Bassiouni ed., 1998); Procédure pénale comparée dans les systèmes modernes : Rapports de synthèse des colloques de l ISISC, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 15 (Jean Pradel ed., 1998); Les systèmes comparés de justice pénale : de la diversité au rapprochement, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 17 (1998). 8 See Final Proceedings of the International Conference on the suppression of terrorism, League of Nations, Doc. C. 548.M V (Part I(1) and Part I(2)). 9 M.Cherif Bassiouni, THE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (vol. 1, 2005), p M. Cherif Bassiouni, Historical Survey , in M. Cherif Bassiouni, THE STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY 1 (1998). 11 INTRODUCTION À L ÉTUDE DU DROIT PÉNAL INTERNATIONAL (1922) and PRINCIPES MODERNES DU DROIT PÉNAL INTERNATIONAL (1928). 12 See Acte de fondation de l Association Internationale de Droit Pénal (1924), in RECUEIL DE L ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol.18 (1999), p. 191.

8 20 International Review of Penal Law (vol. 81) Nuremberg Tribunal, 13 Bert Rölling, judge of the Tribunal of Tokyo, was also an eminent member of the Association The creation of the United Nations opened a phase in this period of slow progress 15 in the legislative history of the ICC Statute that comes from 1937 to This long and sometimes tortuous way was opened by the decision of the United Nations of working in two separate lines codification of international crimes, on one hand, and a draft statute for the establishment of an international court, on the other-, with different commissions, boards and persons. This methodology proved to be very useful in order to prevent and avoid any effective result. As Bassiouni clearly states: during the period in which the General Assembly had mandated the ILC to prepare the Draft Code of Offences, later renamed the Draft Code of Crimes, it also gave a mandate to another special committee to prepare a draft statute for an international criminal court. That committee produced a text in 1951, which was revised in The 1953 Draft Statute of the court was tabled because the Draft Code of Offences was not completed, and when it was completed in 1954, the Draft Code of Offences was tabled because the definition of aggression, which had been entrusted to another body, was not completed. That result was expected since there were different bodies working separately at different venues (Geneva and New York), and producing different texts at different times. It was, therefore, easy for the General Assembly to table each text successively because the one or the other was not then ready. That lack of synchronization was not entirely fortuitous: it was the result of a political desire to delay the establishment of an international criminal court because at that time the world was sharply divided and frequently at risk of war. 16 In any case, even if in 1974 the definition of aggression arrived, the General Assembly took her time to mandate the International Law Commission to work again on the Draft Code and the new nominated rapporteur started his work on the project ab initio, 17 so that the new final draft had to wait until 1991, and only in 1996, was adopted (after revision) by the International Law Commission. 13 The Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal published in 2002 an exceptional document: the proceedings of a meeting organized in May 18, 1946, in the Tribunal of Nuremberg, at the initiative of professor Henri Donnedieu de Vabres. 14 See REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, vol. 73, 2002, 1-2, p. 321 f. 15 M. Cherif Bassiouni, THE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (vol. 1, 2005), pp Id., p Id., p.59

9 Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal (vol. 81) 21 Similarly as it was done with the League of Nations, as soon as the United Nations began its work, the AIDP-IAPL was there present in order to support the efforts towards the establishment of an International Criminal Court. Already in 1947, the International Law Commission of the United Nations, that had received the commitment of preparing a Draft Code of Infractions against Peace and Security of Mankind, elected as first rapporteurs two of our eminent members: Ricardo Alfaro and Jean Spiropoulos. They assured the presence of the Association in the Special Committee established by the General Assembly. This Special Committee elaborated two successive projects of establishment of an International Criminal Court. Simultaneously, the academic struggle in order to establish and develop the criminal responsibility of the perpetrators of international crimes went on. And among those who were very active in this field the figure of Hans-Heinrich Jescheck clearly merits particularly to be remembered. In 1952, Professor Hans- Heinrich Jescheck published his work on the responsibility of the organs of the State in international criminal law. 18 Jescheck was one of the founders of the German national group and became equally a distinguished member of the Association. President of the University Albert-Ludwig (Freiburg, Germany), Dean of the Law Faculty and Director of the Max-Planck Institut of international and comparative criminal law, he was elected President of the Association in Leaving aside other multiple activities of the Association and her most distinguished members, it is worth indicating that, in 1979, the UN Ad Hoc Committee for Southern Africa requested from Professor Bassiouni then Secretary General of the Association the elaboration of a Project on an International Criminal Court in order to apply the Apartheid Convention. In fact, since World War II the need or the opportunity of an international criminal jurisdiction was only envisaged by article 6 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (December 9, 1948) and article 5 of the Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (November 30, 1978). The Project, finished in 1980, 19 was not followed by any action, due to the absence of the necessary political agreement, difficult to obtain in that period of cold war. However, some years later, the Commission of International Law took it as a model for the draft elaborated in DIE VERANTWORTLICHKEIT DER STAATORGANE NACH VÖLKERSTRAFRECHT (1952). 19 See M. Cherif Bassiouni & Daniel Derby, Final Report on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court for the Implementation of the APARTHEID Convention and other Relevant International Instruments, 9 HOFSTRA L. REV (1981).

10 22 International Review of Penal Law (vol. 81) In fact, after 1989, a new time rapidly changing 20 had been opened towards the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court. The atrocities committed in Yugoslavia (and also in Rwanda) had an important influence in this phase, since they pushed the Security Council to adopt in 1992 Resolution 7809 establishing a Commission of Experts in order to investigate the Violations of International Humanitarian Law in that Country. 21 The Commission s report was followed by the decision of the Security Council creating and Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. 22 The Security Council acted similarly in relation to the genocide in Rwanda creating the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in M. Cherif Bassiouni, who had been elected in 1989 as President of the AIDP-IAPL, was member, and then chairman, of the Security Council's Commission to Investigate War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia ( ). Returning to 1989, the proposal from Trinidad and Tobago in order to establish a specialized international criminal court to face the problems of drug trafficking, was followed by the demand of the General Assembly to the International Law Commission to prepare a report on that issue. The Commission s report did not concentrate exclusively on drug trafficking, but received the General Assembly s support to continue in that way. The resulting comprehensive text, produced in 1993 and revised in 1994, was a Draft Statute for an International Criminal Court and was sent for discussion to an Ad hoc Committee, created by the General Assembly on December 11, 1995, on the occasion of its 87 th Plenary Session. 23 The debates took place separately to the discussion of the 1991 Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and the Security of Mankind. The Committee was followed by a Preparatory Committee on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, established in 1996 by the General Assembly and whose mandate was extended until M. Cherif Bassiouni, THE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (vol. 1, 2005), pp U.N.SCOR, 47 th Sess., U.N.Doc.S/RES/780 (1992). See M. Cherif Bassiouni, The Commission of Experts Established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 780 Investigating Violations of International Humanitarian Law in the Former Yugoslavia, 5 CRIM.L.F. 1 (1994); M. Cherif Bassiouni, Former Yugoslavia. Investigating Violations of International Humanitarian Law and Establishing an International Criminal Tribunal, SECURITY DIALOGUE 411 (1994). 22 Resolution 808, U.N.SCOR, 48th Sess., 3175th mts at 1, U.N.Doc.S/RES/808 (1993). 23 REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, 67, 1-2, 1996, p. 117 f; M. Cherif Bassiouni, THE STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY (1998); M. Cherif Bassiouni, Negotiating the Treaty of Rome on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, 32 CORNELL INT L L. J. 443 (1999); Roy S. Lee, The Rome Conference and its Contributions to International Law, in THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: THE MAKING OF THE ROME STATUTE, ISSUES, NEGOTIATIONS, RESULTS 1-40 (Roy S. Lee ed., 1999).

11 Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal (vol. 81) 23 AIDP-IAPL s President Bassiouni intervened as Vice-President of the Ad hoc Committee in 1995 and as Vice-President of the Preparatory Committee, between 1996 and He was then unanimously elected by the 161 countries of the General Assembly as President of the Drafting Commitee on the occasion of the Plenipotentiary Conference of the United Nations that adopted the Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome, July 17, 1998). 24 In fact between 1995 and 1998 decisive efforts were developed in order to prepare the Draft Statute of the International Criminal Court. 25 In that phase, and under the leadership of our then President Bassiouni, the Association contributed to the organization of four intersessional meetings at the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences (ISISC), in Siracusa (Sicily, Italy) where several important documents were produced. The Association was equally active in the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, integrated by some 300 participant organizations. 26 The result of the work done in preparation of the Draft ICC Statute was presented to the Rome Diplomatic Conference, which adopted the Statute of the International Criminal Court in Rome on 17 July In that Conference, M. Cherif Bassiouni chaired the Drafting Committee, and many members of the Association took part as delegates of their respective countries. Furthermore, Professor G. Conso, former Minister of Justice and former President of the Italian Constitutional Court and eminent member of the Board of Directors of the AIDP- IAPL and the ISISC, was elected President of the Conference. The AIDP was represented as NGO with consultative status before the United Nations and presented a Declaration in order to fix the objectives that the Association would like to see attributed to the Court In any case, and among all other participants in this process related to the establishment of an International Criminal Court, the contribution (and leadership) of our former President, and currently Honorary President M. C. Bassiouni is 24 See also on this point: M. C. Bassiouni, Recent United Nations Activities in Connection with the Establishment of a Permanent International Criminal Court and the Role of the Association Internationale de Droit Pénal (AIDP) and the Istituto Superiore Internazionale de Scienze Criminali (ISISC), REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, 67, 1-2, 1996, p. 127 f. 25 M. Cherif Bassiouni, THE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (vol. 1, 2005), pp For a list see Annex IVB of A/Conf.183/9 (1998). See also, Cherif Bassiouni, THE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (vol. 1, 2005), pp.74 f (n.145). 27 Id., pp Declaration reprinted in REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, 68, 3-4, 1997, p f. See equally the text of the discourse pronounced by President Bassiouni on the occasion of the Opening Ceremony of signature, Rome (Italy), July 18, 1998, REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, 68, 3-4, 1997, p f.

12 24 International Review of Penal Law (vol. 81) impressive and deserves to be particularly underlined. Author and editor of many writings and academic works on this issue, his protagonist participation in the tasks of diverse Committees is broadly recognized. The Draft of International Criminal Code, presented in the United Nations Congress of Caracas (1980), 29 served as a particularly important contribution in the definition of the international crimes under the jurisdiction either of the Ad hoc Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda or the International Criminal Court. From the Presidency of the Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences (ISISC) since 1976, the seminars, conferences and expert committees organized by M. Cherif Bassiouni in Siracusa on this topic gathered more than a thousand jurists and governmental representatives. The results of these were very useful for the preparation of the Draft Statute and for the Rome Conference: in particular, the document Siracuse Project, presented to the Preparatory Committee of the United Nations held in New York in March Professor Bassiouni also chaired the International Human Rights Law Institute of of the DePaul University College of Law in Chicago (IHRLI). And since 1997 this Institute contributed financial and technically, through the MacArthur Foundation, giving support to more than thirty LDC States (eleven African) in order to ratify the ICC Statute. Consistently, when on behalf of the UNO General Secretary, Kofi Annan, Mr. Hans Corell, Deputy of the Secretary General, announced before the General Assembly the entrance into force of the Statute on the occasion of the Ceremony of April 11, 2002, in New York his name occupied an important position among the only three names that were mentioned as the personalities having contributed most to this historical conquest, 30 all of them distinguished members of our Association: M. Cherif Bassiouni, having served the Association from the highest positions since 1974: first as Secretary General and then as President of the AIDP-IAPL; Benjamin Ferencz, former prosecutor in Nuremberg and member of the AIDP- IAPL, and Arthur Robinson, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Honorary Vice-President of the Association. These are not, however, the only members of the Association whose efforts and contribution to the establishment of a permanent international criminal court deserve to be mentioned. As our Honorary President frequently indicates, along 29 REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, 52, 1-2 and 3-4, See also in particular, Draft Statute International Criminal Tribunal, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES, vol. 9 (1993); Adde: The International Criminal Court, NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES., vol. 13 (1997). This project has been completed by several works published in volumes 13 bis, 13 ter and 13 quater of the NOUVELLES ETUDES PÉNALES. 30 See also REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL, 73,

13 Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal (vol. 81) 25 with the members already evoked, many are the names that also merit not to be forgotten: Robert Badinter, Christopher Blakesley, Pierre Bouzat, Peter Burns, Jean Carjeu, Jean Dautricourt, Mireille Delmas-Marty, Yoram Dinstein, Albin Eser, Alfredo Etcheberry, Stefan Glaser, Jean Graven, Leslie C. Green, Jimenez de Asua, Dorean Koering, Jean-Pierre Maunior, Henry Meyrowitz, Gerhard O. W. Mueller, Ved P. Nanda, Dietrich Oehler, Reynald Ottenhof, Mario Pisani, Giandomenico Pisapia, Stefan Plawski, Dominique Poncet, Antonio Quintano Ripollés, Herwig Roggemann, Bert Rölling, Michael Scharf, Otto Triffterer, Giuliano Vassalli, Manuel Viero, Abdel Azim Wazir, Leila Sadat Wexler, Carton de Wiart, Sharon Williams, Edward Wise, Robert Woetzel, Quincy Wright 31 Obviously the Association feels very proud looking at the work already done, even if much is still pending in order to promote, develop and improve the intervention and functioning of international criminal jurisdiction. 32 In this sense, after the entrance into force of the ICC Statute the Association continues with its efforts of impulsion and support of the Court, encouraging the States to adhere to the new structure and organizing different events (particularly at the ISISC in Siracusa) on the International Criminal Court. Anniversary of the Establishment of the ICC With identical enthusiasm the Association has been preparing herself to the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the ICC. Last year an important International Conference was held in The Hague, under the title Fighting Impunity and Promoting International Justice (8 June 2009), in The Peace Palace (The Hague, The Netherlands), organized by Prof. Bassiouni and with the participation of the Presidents and/or representatives of all the international jurisdictions. On the other hand, the Young Penalists organized its First AIDP Young Penalists Symposium, 33 devoted to prepare the Young Penalists contribution to the ICC Review Conference. Along the same lines, the Editorial Board of the Revue Internationale de Droit Pénal decided to dedicate a volume of the Revue to the anniversary of the ICC. The present issue of the Revue, edited by Steven W. Becker, is therefore devoted to the timely topic of the The ICC Review Conference: Best Practices and Future 31 M. Cherif Bassiouni, Message du Président aux membres de l Association, AIDP, LETTRE D INFORMATION, 1999/I, p. 5 f. 32 See in this sense volume 71 (1-2) 2000, of the REVUE INTERNATIONALE DE DROIT PÉNAL INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF PENAL LAW, International Criminal Court. Ratification and National Implementing Legislation (in three languages: French, English and Spanish). 33 Burchard / Triffterer / Vogel (eds.), The Review Conference and the Future of the International Criminal Court. Proceedings of the First AIDP Symposium for Young Penalists in Tübingen, Germany, co-organized by the AIDP YP Committee (2010).

14 26 International Review of Penal Law (vol. 81) Challenges. It revises important issues concerning the ICC Statute and tries to focus particularly on the ICC s short experience and the dilemmas that it was necessary to face in the latest years. On behalf of the AIDP-IAPL we would like to thank sincerely the splendid work of our Chief-editor and all the contributors.