Helen Brady explains why Australia should sign the International Criminal Court Treaty, but she doesn't explain the consequences of not doing so.

While Ms Brady addressed concerns that signing the treaty is a threat to Australia's sovereignty, it should be made clear that not signing the treaty exposes Australia's sovereignty to external interference.

The procedures are complex, but in brief the court can prosecute a person for international crimes only when the crime occurs in the territory of a signatory country, and only when the person's country is unable or unwilling to prosecute them.

If Australia is not a signatory, then it can do nothing to prevent an Australian being prosecuted by the ICC for an international crime in a country which is a party to the treaty, eg, on a military exercise in Asia or the Pacific.

Surely it is preferable for Australia to have a system which gives it the primary and probably exclusive role in prosecuting Australian citizens for their conduct, regardless of where that conduct occurs. That is the system envisaged by the ICC.

Simon Rice
President
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights

13 February 2001

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This page last updated 4th May 2004