The establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court which could not be accused of practicing “victor justice” or “party justice” has been urged by the World Jewish Congress in a memorandum submitted to U.N. Secretary General Trygve Lie for transmission to the U.N. Committee on International Criminal Jurisdiction now meeting in Geneva.
The World Jewish Congress position thus far was in opposition to that of British Attorney General Sir Frank Soskice, who told the Geneva meeting that the nations of the world were not yet ready for such a court and that it might become “the focus of international discord.” The W.J.C., on the contrary, pointed out that an established international criminal court “has of necessity a much higher moral authority” than one created, as was the court set up at Nuremberg to try the chief Nazis after World War II, for a specific purpose.
The memorandum also declared that a permanent court backed by the full prestige of the United Nations would rise above international politics and would, by its nature, prevent accusations that the victor was trying the vanquished or that “party justice” was involved. Further, the memorandum argued, the establishment of special courts for every violation of international criminal law would require considerable time, “a very important element in prosecution of crimes,” and that such courts cannot, as a permanent tribunal could, create stable jurisprudence and accepted interpretations of the applicable law.
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