Posted 12 May 2011 - 06:05 AM

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MUAMMAR GADDAFI:



THE INTERNATIONAL PENAL COURTS AND TRIBUNALS ARE ILLEGAL

The international courts and tribunals are a feature of an international system that is based on selectivity and double standards. What these courts have in common is their lack of the legal conditions for the existence of any court.The conditions for the legality of any court are well-known. It must by established by a legitimate authority, whose legitimacy is derived from a legal status. The events brought before it must constitute clearly defined offences established in a previous law that precedes their commission. The punishments for such acts must also be established in that law. The law must be enacted by a legitimate legislative authority. The judges of the court must enjoy full independence and the ability to make their rulings free from any outside influence. The rules of procedure of the court must ensure due process for the defendants. Do the international criminal courts and tribunals meet these conditions? The answer is, No!!In fact, the international criminal courts that the world has known were established in one of two ways. They were either established by the victors of a certain war, as was the case with the military tribunals of Nuremburg and Tokyo that were created by the victorious Allies after World War II, or by an “international” authority of dubious legitimacy as was the case with the International Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda that were created by the Security Council.The so-called Security Council has absolutely no legal right to establish courts or tribunals. Article 29 of the Charter cannot be construed as giving a right to establish courts. It only authorizes the establishment of subsidiary organs. The misuse by the Council of that and other provisions is a gross infringement upon the sovereignty of peoples.Therefore, the resolutions of the so-called Security Council pertaining to the establishment of courts and tribunals are null and void under international law and jurisprudence.The current international courts and tribunals were created in the fashion of their antecedents. Their purpose is not to try all those who may have committed a crime, but to try the weaker, vanquished party alone.In creating the two above-mentioned tribunals, the Council acted under Chapter VII of the Charter. This is yet another proof of their politicized character and lack of impartiality.

Edited by Venezuela, 12 May 2011 - 06:06 AM.