‘4 CRIMES UNDER LOCAL LAW IF ROME STATUTE RATIFIED’
Constitution does not need to be amended, says foreign minister
GENOCIDE, war crimes, humanitarian crimes and invasion will come under Malaysian law if the country ratifies the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), says Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
He said following ratification, the new laws must be included in local legislation, either through the amendment of existing acts or the creation of new ones, without the need for amendments to the Constitution.
“It (Rome Statute) is at the international level. After it is ratified (if not withdrawn), the four international crimes should be criminalised in local courts. Does it require amendments to the Constitution? The answer is no.
“After we create the laws or acts, if there is someone or a leader — but not the king, not royalty — involved in (any of) the (four) crimes, the courts may prosecute him or her. If the court has charged the person, ICC will not interfere,” he said in an interview on the Ruang Bicara programme aired by Bernama News Channel
here on Wednesday.
Saifuddin said ICC was meant to be the last resort in cases where the country involved clearly did not take action against the offender.
He said as long as the country had the capability to bring justice and punish the offender, ICC would not get involved.
On April 5, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that Malaysia had withdrawn from ratifying the Rome Statute due to political confusion among the people.
ICC is the first agreement-based international criminal court aimed at ending immunity to the most serious criminal offenders considered a threat to the international community involving genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and invasion.
Certain quarters claimed that if Malaysia acceded to the Rome Statute, there would be a conflict of interest, and Malaysia would lose its freedom to draft its own laws and policies.
Saifuddin explained that Malaysia could still accede to the statute if it wished to do so in the future as the decision to do so is voluntary.