[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S.J. Res. 93 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
103d CONGRESS
1st Session
S. J. RES. 93
Calling for the President to support efforts by the United Nations to
conclude an international agreement to establish an international
criminal court.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 11 (legislative day, April 19), 1993
Mr. Specter introduced the following joint resolution; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
JOINT RESOLUTION
Calling for the President to support efforts by the United Nations to
conclude an international agreement to establish an international
criminal court.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) the preservation of international security and peace
rests on adherence to the rule of law and principles of justice
by the nations and peoples of the world;
(2) international security and peace are threatened by
violations of international law by war crimes, genocide,
military aggression, terrorism, drug trafficking, and other
international crimes;
(3) violations of international law by such international
acts have a severely detrimental effect on the United States,
putting Americans at risk and costing the Nation billions of
dollars;
(4) the prosecution of individuals suspected of violating
international law is often impeded by domestic political and
legal obstacles imposed by the nations involved;
(5) the International Military Tribunals established after
World War II to try suspected war criminals demonstrated that
fair and effective prosecution of war criminals could be
carried out in an international forum by nations acting in
concert under international law;
(6) since its establishment in 1945 the United Nations has
sought to establish a permanent international criminal court to
try crimes committed in violation of international law;
(7) there are many examples of international judicial
bodies successfully exercising legal authority over nations
that have voluntarily agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of
such tribunals;
(8) in 1978 the American Bar Association adopted a
resolution urging the Department of State to open negotiations
for a convention to establish an international criminal court
with jurisdiction over international crimes of hijacking,
violence aboard aircraft, crimes against diplomats and
internationally protected persons, and murder and kidnapping;
(9) in the Ninety-ninth Congress, in the Omnibus Diplomatic
Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986, it was expressed as the
sense of the Congress that the President should consider the
possibility of eventually establishing an international
tribunal for prosecuting terrorists;
(10) in the One Hundredth Congress, in the Anti-Drug Abuse
Act of 1988, it was expressed as the sense of the Senate that
the President should begin discussions with foreign governments
to investigate the feasibility and advisability of establishing
an international criminal court to expedite cases regarding the
prosecution of persons accused of having engaged in
international drug trafficking or having committed
international crimes;
(11) the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution
44/39 on December 4, 1989, calling on the International Law
Commission to study the feasibility of an international
criminal court;
(12) the draft report of the International Law Commission
issued in July 1990, expressed the Commission's agreement in
principle with the idea of establishing a permanent
international criminal court;
(13) in the One Hundred First Congress, in the Foreign
Operations Appropriations Act, Congress required the President
and the Judicial Conference of the United States to report to
the Congress on the establishment of an international criminal
court;
(14) in the One Hundred Second Congress, the Senate passed,
as part of the Persian Gulf War Criminals Act of 1991, a
proposal calling on the President to propose to the United
Nations the establishment of an international criminal tribunal
to prosecute Persian Gulf War criminals;
(15) in 1992 the American Bar Association adopted a
resolution calling on the United States Government to work
toward solving the legal and practical issues regarding the
establishment of an international criminal court;
(16) the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution
47/33 on November 25, 1992, calling on the International Law
Commission to begin the process of drafting a statute for an
international criminal court at its next session;
(17) the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution
808 on February 22, 1993, establishing a war crimes tribunal to
prosecute persons responsible for violations of international
law in the territory of the former Yugoslavia;
(18) the time has come for the United States to advocate
the establishment of a permanent international criminal court
and to assist in the preparation of a code under which such a
court can operate and in the establishment of the court.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
It is the sense of the Congress that the President, acting through
the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United
Nations, should support the efforts of the United Nations and the
International Law Commission to establish an international criminal
court with jurisdiction over violations of international law and crimes
of an international character, including war crimes, acts of terrorism,
and drug trafficking, and should provide any assistance necessary to
expedite the establishment of such a court.
SEC. 3. REQUIRED REPORT.
Not later than December 1, 1993, the President shall submit to the
Congress a detailed report in developments relating to, and United
States efforts in support of, the establishment of an international
criminal court.
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