International Criminal Tribunal-Y vs NATO member # 1

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The following note supplies some related legal references and voices
reservations about the likelihood that this initiative [which AGF
supports] will prosper :

Pursuant to the  previous post regarding the submission for
indictment of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, et al., the following
site is worth noting.  It is the website of the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), a United Nations organization.
See http://www.un.org/icty/.  The statute authorizing and controlling the
ICTY can be found in the Basic Legal Documents section, specifically at
http://www.un.org/icty/basic/i-bencon.htm.

	Of this statute I would note two points.  One, there is a
Prosecutor within the ICTY who decides whom to indict.  Other parties may
only submit information.  Two, the Prosecutor is appointed by the Security
Council, whereas the Trial Judges are elected by the General Assembly.  
However, the list of Trial Judges is submitted to the General Assembly by
the Security Council.  The list of Prosecutors is submitted to the
Security Council by the Secretary General.  

	So there is a filtering process built into the selection of the
judges and the prosecutor which skews the impartiality of the ICTY in any
matter involving Security Council members, ie, the accused leaders of
Great Britain, or the leaders of the United States and thereby NATO.
Furthermore, any accusation of war crimes against NATO, et al., by
Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic has a snowballs chance in hell of
being turned into an indictment by the ICTY  Prosecutor.  This despite
Article 16, Section 2 of the Statute of the International Tribunal which
requires the prosecutor to "act independently" and to "not seek or receive
instructions from any Government or from any other source."  I'm sure no
instructions need to be given to any prosecutor approved by the Security
Council in the first place, insofar as matters concern the Security
Council members, particularly the United States, which historically
ignores such international legal proceedings whenever it wants to anyway.
To the extent presently that the vigillante US government is out of
control and bombing at whim, it's only a bit of a stretch for the
Prosecutor to fear a bomb falling on the ICTY itself - accidentally, of
course.  A mere 900 mile mistake.

		Article 18 - Investigation and preparation of indictment

1. The Prosecutor shall initiate investigations ex-officio or on the basis
of information obtained from any source, particularly from Governments,
United Nations organs, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations. The Prosecutor shall assess the information received or
obtained and decide whether there is sufficient basis to proceed.

		Article 16 - The Prosecutor

2. The Prosecutor shall act independently as a separate organ of the
International Tribunal. He or she shall not seek or receive instructions
from any Government or from any other source.

4. The Prosecutor shall be appointed by the Security Council on nomination
by the Secretary-General.

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Dale Wertz
217.355.5877