| Title of Document: |
Prosecuting war crimes: the courts must be independent |
| Keywords: |
arrest warrant by Westminster magistrate's court against Tzipi Livni, former Foreign Minister of Israel |
| Author: |
Clive Baldwin |
|
|
| Codex-online publication date: 03/02/2010 18:30:01 |
| Date of Original Publication: 02/03/2010 |
| Country: United Kingdom |
Summary: The British government claims to defend basic principles of justice for grave international crimes. So its reaction to arrest warrants issued by independent courts, acting on evidence showing an arguable case, should be straightforward: respect the courts' rulings even if they cause political embarrassment. |
|
However, the reactions of ministers to the arrest warrant issued, and then withdrawn, by Westminster magistrate's court against Tzipi Livni, the former Foreign Minister of Israel, have been neither straightforward nor edifying.
Most embarrassing of all, Patricia Scotland, the Attorney General, gave a speech in Jerusalem on 5 January declaring that the government was "determined that Israel's leaders should always be able to travel freely to the UK." Her statement leaves the impression that no matter what crimes may have been committed, no matter what British courts may say, ministers will find a way to bypass justice if it suits them. And it is hardly likely that the government will limit its infringements of the rule of law to the case of Israel.
The British government's unfortunate intervention over Tzipi Livni's arrest warrant
by Clive Baldwin, senior legal advisor
Published in: OpenDemocracy
JANUARY 28, 2010
For the entire article, please see: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/01/28/prosecuting-war-crimes-courts-must-be-independent
Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org
|
|
|
|
|
|