23rd Amendment International Criminal Court/ Arguments For

The 23rd Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001 proposes to amend the Irish Constitution to allow Ireland to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court . The function of the Court is to try, in certain defined circumstances, persons charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression.

This statement of the main arguments for and against this proposal is published by the Referendum Commission having regard to submissions made to it by the public in response to advertisements.

The arguments should be read in conjunction with the earlier explanatory leaflets published by, and available from, the Referendum Commission .

The Commission expresses no opinion as to the comparative merits of these arguments and there is no significance in the order in which they are printed.

Consider them and decide before you vote on the 7th June.


Arguments for

You should vote YES to this proposal because:

The Statute is a major development in international law and the protection of human rights. At present, there is no adequate enforcement mechanism for international human rights law. This Court will provide a permanent enforcement mechanism which will investigate and punish atrocities worldwide. Its jurisdiction will extend to any country that has ratified it and to the citizens of any such country.

Ratifying it will allow Irish people to give practical expression to their support for human rights internationally and their repugnance for crimes against humanity.

The establishment of this Court will end a situation in which major crimes against humanity can go unpunished.

It will provide a permanent replacement for the ad hoc tribunals which have been set up to deal with particular situations. Ad hoc tribunals have been established in cases of particularly large scale flagrant abuse of human rights. A permanent tribunal is needed to ensure that all crimes against humanity can be investigated and prosecuted.

The Statute leaves the primary responsibility for the prosecution of crime in the hands of the national governments but it will take over where national criminal justice institutions are unable or unwilling to act. The main responsibility of the countries which are parties to the Court will be to co-operate with it and, where appropriate, to enforce judgements, including accepting a sentenced prisoner.

The prosecution service of the Court is independent in the carrying out of its functions and has the power to initiate investigations even if the countries which have ratified the Court or the Security Council of the United Nations are reluctant to do so.

The Court is being supported by all the Member States of the EU.