Judgement at Malaysian hearing may help push case at ICC; Obama in violation for not pursuing indictment

Francis Boyle is a Professor of Law at the University of llinois
School of Law, where he currently teaches courses on Public
International Law and International Human Rights. * I would say he is
the EXPERT on this issue*


JAY: So how were you able to get something going at the ICC, and where
is it at?

BOYLE: Right. Well, numerous complaints have been filed against Bush
and the rest of them at the International Criminal Court, but they got
nowhere, because the United States government is not a party to the
Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court. And I was the first
one to figure out a way around this conundrum by filing a complaint
against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Gonzalez, Bybee, Yoo, Tenet,
and Rice for their policy of so-called extraordinary rendition, which,
as I pointed out to the ICC, is really a euphemism for the enforced
disappearance of human beings and torture, both of which are Rome
Statutory crimes. And as I pointed out to the ICC, these defendants
have committed Rome Statutory crimes in Rome party states. Indeed most
of Europe, where these extraordinary renditions in part took place,
are parties to the Rome statute, as well as Afghanistan. And therefore
I argued to the ICC that the court did have jurisdiction to prosecute
them and should exercise that jurisdiction.

JAY: Well, how has the ICC responded to your arguments?

BOYLE: They responded to me saying they gave me a docket number, they
were inquiring into the matter, and they would get back to me in
writing


JAY: Right. Now, what is the obligation, if any, on the Obama
administration in regards to all of this? I mean, when President Obama
was elected, he said it's time to look forward, not back, which, you
know, a lot of people have suggested that would mean no crimes of any
kind would ever be punished, 'cause it's always happened already. But
is there any legal obligation on the Obama administration to
investigate/prosecute? And if so, the fact that they haven't, what
does that mean?

BOYLE: Yes, the Obama administration has all along had an obligation
to prosecute Bush and the rest of them under the Convention against
Torture, including U.S. implementing legislation for that convention,
making torture a crime, a felony, and in some circumstances punishable
by death if death has occurred, which it has, although I don't support
the death penalty. But it does give you an idea of the severity of the
crimes. And also the Obama administration has an obligation to
prosecute these individuals under the four Geneva conventions of 1949,
including the U.S. implementing legislation, the U.S. War Crimes Act.
So there is an obligation by Obama to prosecute. Perhaps in a second
term they might. We'll just have to see what happens.

You are correct to indicate that so far they said they were looking to
the forward and not to the past. I pointed out then to the ICC
prosecutor that this is definitive proof that the Obama administration
is not going to prosecute at this time and therefore satisfies the
element known as subsidiarity, which requires the ICC to defer to the
national state for prosecution before the ICC steps in. And if you
already have Obama and Holder saying they're not going to prosecute,
that satisfies that requirement and puts it firmly in the hands of the
ICC.


JAY: And is the Obama administration then itself in violation of the
law by not pursuing this?

BOYLE: That's correct. It's clearly in violation of the Convention
against Torture and the four Geneva conventions of 1949, and, I regret
to report, technically this would make them accessories after the fact
to these offenses.


http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=8348



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