'Sovereignty threatened' if ICC involved

'Sovereignty threatened' if ICC involved

SENATOR SAYS GOVT, OPPOSITION HOLDING COUNTRY HOSTAGE FOR POLITICAL GAIN

Legal experts have warned of adverse repercussions if Thailand accepts the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction over the 2010 clashes between security forces and red shirt protesters.

Pokpong Srisanit, a law lecturer at Thammasat University, said Thailand should ratify the ICC treaty as part of its efforts to promote and protect human rights rather than accept the court's power on an ad hoc basis.

He argued against accepting the court's jurisdiction in cases which the Thai justice system is able to handle by itself.

Controversy over the possibility of ICC intervention resurfaced after Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul on Friday urged the government to accept ICC's jurisdiction over the 2010 security crackdown on red shirt demonstrators.

Mr Surapong met ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda last week to discuss the steps Thailand would be required to take if it is to accept ICC jurisdiction.

The minister said he would give details about the process at a press conference tomorrow.

Thailand has not ratified the ICC treaty. The court's jurisdiction, however, can be established if the country makes a declaration accepting it.

Mr Pokpong insisted that ratifying the treaty or signing such a declaration would require parliamentary approval necessary for legally binding matters involving national sovereignty under Section 190 of the constitution.

He added that if Thailand invites the ICC to step in, it would reflect negatively on the country's international reputation by making it appear unable to handle its internal affairs.

Deputy Senate Speaker Surachai Liangboonlertchai said the issue is being politicised by the government and the opposition.

Thailand's judicial system could lose sovereignty if international bodies are dragged into the case, he said. Mr Surachai added that it is wrong to take the country's national sovereignty hostage only to pursue political gains.

United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship legal adviser Robert Amsterdam petitioned the ICC in Jan 2011 to launch a preliminary investigation into the alleged killings of civilians by security forces during the 2010 protests on the basis that they were "crimes against humanity".

More than 90 people were killed in the crackdown.

The foreign minister insisted that by accepting the ICC's jurisdiction in the matter, the government would not be inviting the international tribunal to interfere in the country's internal affairs.

Another legal expert who asked not to be named said the Thai government must be careful in deciding whether to request that the ICC looks into the 2010 clashes.

Although the Rome Statute establishing the ICC allows non-party states to ask the court to investigate criminal cases in the country, the government has to accept the court's power first, he said.

The Thai government should think carefully before declaring its acceptance of the international tribunal's power because this could erode its national sovereignty, said the legal expert.

To prevent the country from being under the ICC's jurisdiction, he said the government might ask the court to investigate the 2010 political violence within a fixed timeframe.

This means the court would be unable to investigate other cases, such as those Thaksin Shinawatra's war on drugs.

Democrat list MP Kasit Piromya had earlier petitioned the ICC to probe the Thaksin administration's alleged extrajudicial killings during efforts to stamp out the illegal narcotics trade.

Regarding the procedure, he said, after the Thai government accepts the court's power, the ICC would conduct a preliminary examination in order to determine the scope of its own jurisdiction.

"If the country's internal legal process is effective, the court will not proceed as requested," said the source.

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