In the wake of recent world events, including two devastating wars, Malaysia must take immediate steps to recognise the International Criminal Court, said the Bar Council today.

Council chairperson Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari said that there was no plausible basis for Malaysia's continued opposition to the ICC which officially came into force last July.

"Malaysia must not be seen as shirking its obligations as a member of the international community," said Kuthubul, who heads the 10,000-strong Malaysian Bar, in a statement.

"The events of recent times, including the unwarranted attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq, have made these obligations even more poignant."

US opposition

He said that Malaysia must ratify the treaty without further delay so that it can be part of the ICC .

The ICC has jurisdiction over individuals who are nationals of countries that have ratified the treaty. Thus far, 90 countries have ratified it.

Among the biggest opponent of the ICC is the United States which fears that the ICC may exercise its jurisdiction to conduct investigations and prosecutions of US military and political officials.

Kuthubul said that the ICC represented a milestone in the efforts of international community to secure universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals.

"Without the ICC as an enforcement mechanism for dealing with individual responsibility, crimes against humanity, acts of genocide and severe violations of human rights often go unpunished," he added.

The court has powers to punish individuals for crimes against humanity which involve systematic attack against civilians - murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, arbitrary detention, torture, rape and other acts of sexual violence.

Kuthubul said that it was regrettable that the government had not give its reasons for not ratifying the 1998 treaty, officially called the Rome Statute.

"Any concerns that the government may have over ratifying the statute must be explained and quickly addresses."

Similar concerns were raised by DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang just after the ICC was formed. He had said that it was a "blot in Malaysia's international diplomacy that we are not one of the first 60 countries to ratify" the statute.

He said that the government should explain why it had not done so.

Government's stand

The government's opposition to the ICC was however made public in 1998 by its ambassador to Italy V Ramanathan during an international conference in Rome when the statute outlining the creation of the court was adopted.

He said that the government, while supporting the establishment of the court in principle, was mindful that the newly formed court should not replace national courts.

He added that some crimes against humanity, such as crimes as terrorism and drug trafficking, must be left to the national courts to deal with.

However, ICC is only empowered to take up cases where national courts refuse, or unable, to handle them.

"Moreover, having these crimes within the ambit of the jurisdiction of the ICC would only overtax the court in terms of finance, manpower and other resources," Ramanathan added.

The government also had reservation on the wide powers granted to the office of the prosecutor to act independently and to investigate on his own initiative.