The World Court on Tuesday ruled France may continue to investigate the Republic of Congo’s interior minister for alleged crimes against humanity committed in the African country, until it hears the case in full.
In a 14-1 ruling, the court rejected the Republic of Congo’s request that the prosecution be halted immediately, saying that the French court was still investigating the matter and ”there is no urgent need for provisional measures” to stop it.
The two countries will now prepare for in-depth hearings on the legal merits of the dispute before the same panel of judges, though no date was set.
In hearings in April, the Central African nation requested the prosecution stopped, arguing that a French court in Meaux, near Paris, improperly launched proceedings to try Interior Minister Pierre Oba in absentia for alleged crimes during the suppression of a 1998-99 rebellion.
The Republic of Congo’s ambassador to the Netherlands said France, once a colonial power in the region, was violating his country’s sovereignty, and ”should stay within its own boundaries.”
Ronny Abraham, legal chief of France’s Foreign Ministry, said France would only address the merits of the Republic of Congo’s complaint when the case is heard in full.
The French court is investigating Oba under the principle of ”universal jurisdiction,” which says every country has the right to prosecute war crimes, even if they are committed by foreign citizens abroad.
Lawyer Jacques Verges, representing the Republic of the Congo, said Tuesday’s ruling ”wasn’t a disappointment,” because the French government had already made concessions that are undermining the urgency of the World Court case. He said the French Foreign Ministry hasn’t been cooperating with the Meaux court, a necessity if it wants to call witnesses from the faraway Republic of the Congo.
The World Court, also known as the International Court of Justice, is the United Nations’ principal court for resolving disputes between nations. Both sides have agreed to abide by its ruling in the current dispute.
The Meaux court’s case against Oba — whose job includes managing the Republic of Congo’s national police — was filed by humanitarian groups in December 2001.
It deals with an incident in May 1999 in which around 350 refugees from fighting between rebels and the government disappeared on returning from the neighbouring Demovratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a ceasefire.
The Republic of Congo, with its capital in Brazzaville, borders on the much larger DRC, which has its capital in Kinshasa. A French-led UN peacekeeping force recently arrived in the larger Congo in order to halt tribal fighting that has killed hundreds of civilians there.
The most famous test of ”universal jurisdiction” was the 1998 arrest of former Chilean leader Gen. Augusto Pinochet in Britain, after Spain demanded he be extradited to stand trial there for crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Chile.
The British court hearing that case ruled Spain’s request valid, but Pinochet was found to be too ill to be extradited and was allowed to return to Chile in March 2000. – Sapa-AP