NEWS RELEASES
CANADA INTRODUCES NEW ACT TO IMPLEMENT INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
December 10, 1999 ( 12:30 p.m. EST) No. 267
CANADA INTRODUCES NEW ACT TO IMPLEMENT
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Anne McLellan
today announced the introduction of legislation in the House of Commons to create a new Act of Parliament,
the Crimes Against Humanity Act. The new law would implement in Canada the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court (ICC) and would replace the current war crimes provisions of the Criminal Code.
"Today is International Human Rights Day and I can think of no better occasion to table this legislation. Once
established, the ICC will help to end the culture of impunity that has allowed gross abusers of human rights to
escape justice," said Minister Axworthy. "I am proud that Canada is the first country to introduce such
comprehensive implementation legislation. In doing so, we are building on the momentum that started with the
negotiations on the ICC Statute in Rome last year and ensuring that Canada is at the forefront of making the
International Criminal Court a vital, functioning entity."
The Rome Statute of the ICC was adopted by 120 states at an international diplomatic conference held in
Rome in July 1998. Canada served as chair of the pivotal Committee of the Whole at the Conference, bringing
it to a successful conclusion, and is again playing this role at the United Nations in New York to work out
technical details of the Court's operation. Minister Axworthy signed the Rome Statute on behalf of Canada on
December 18, 1998.
The new Crimes Against Humanity Act would create new offences of genocide, crimes against humanity, war
crimes, and breach of responsibility by military commanders and civilian superiors. New offences would also be
created to protect the administration of justice of the ICC, as well as the safety of judges, officials and
witnesses.
"The Government of Canada remains committed to using all available avenues to bring to justice persons
suspected of committing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes," said Minister McLellan. "These
amendments would strengthen the legislative foundation for criminal prosecutions in Canada and fortify the
administration of justice of the ICC. They would reinforce Canada's War Crimes Program and reaffirm Canada's
pledge to Canadians and to the international community that Canada is not, and will not be, a safe haven for
war criminals."
The Act would also create new proceeds of crime offences and mechanisms to enforce orders of the ICC for
the restraint and forfeiture of assets. Money obtained would be paid into a Crimes Against Humanity Fund,
established under the Act, and may be distributed by the Attorney General of Canada to victims of offences
under the Act or the Rome Statute.
The Crimes Against Humanity Act also implements Canada's obligations under the Rome Statute to surrender
persons sought by the ICC for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other offences under the
Statute. In addition, a person who is the subject of a request for surrender by the ICC would not be able to
claim immunity from arrest or surrender. The Act would complement recent amendments to the Extradition Act,
introduced by Minister McLellan, which allow for and facilitate the extradition of persons accused of genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes to international criminal courts and tribunals.
Both ministers expressed the hope that the 91 states that have signed the ICC Statute to date will rapidly ratify
and implement it. The Statute will come into force once it has been ratified by 60 countries. The Government of
Canada will continue to actively promote a co-ordinated global strategy in support of ICC ratification and
implementation. Non-governmental organizations are an integral part of this strategy.
Mr. Axworthy announced that two important initiatives to promote the ICC's ratification would receive funding
from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's Peacebuilding and Human Security Program.
The first is a $60 000 contribution to a joint project of the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and
Criminal Justice Policy and the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. The
project will support the development and dissemination of practical tools to assist countries in their efforts to
ratify and implement the ICC Statute. The other is a $50 000 contribution to the NGO Coalition for an
International Criminal Court. The Coalition is undertaking a global campaign to educate national leaders, media,
parliamentarians and civil society about the ICC Statute and to promote its ratification.
Funds for the contributions cited above were provided for in the February 1999 federal budget and are
therefore built into the existing fiscal framework.
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A backgrounder is attached.
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Debora Brown
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
Line Chabot-Racine
Office of the Minister of Justice
(613) 992-4621
Marjorie Ward
Communications and Executive Services Branch
Department of Justice
(613) 957-4205
This document is also available on the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's Web site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca and the Department of Justice's Internet site: http://canada.justice.gc.ca
Backgrounder
CANADA AND THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Canada has been a driving force behind the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose Statute
was adopted in Rome on July 17, 1998. The ICC will be the first permanent international court to have
jurisdiction over the most serious crimes established in international law -- genocide, crimes against humanity
and war crimes and, once a suitable definition is adopted, the crime of aggression. The ICC Statute will enter
into force after it has been ratified by 60 states.
Canada signed the ICC Statute on December 18, 1998, and is one of several dozen countries undertaking
measures to implement the Statute within their national legal systems. While six countries (Fiji, Ghana, Italy,
San Marino, Senegal, and Trinidad and Tobago) have already ratified the Statute, the legislation being
introduced today makes Canada the first country to introduce comprehensive implementation legislation.
The ICC is designed to complement, not replace, national courts and will therefore exercise jurisdiction where
national courts are unable or unwilling to bring transgressors to justice. The ICC Statute provides the tools to
ensure that the Court will be an independent and effective institution, and also contains sufficient procedural
safeguards to ensure that it operates in a responsible manner respecting due process. The crimes over which
the Court has jurisdiction are carefully defined in accordance with established customary international law. The
Statute contains a number of provisions to address the plight of women and children in armed conflict. The
Statute recognizes rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence as a war crime and a crime against
humanity, and also recognizes the enlistment or use of children under 15 in armed conflicts as a war crime.
Canada remains committed to a leadership role in bringing to justice those who commit genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes, regardless of when or where these crimes have taken place. The
amendments are part of the federal government's resolve to have at its disposal all possible remedies to ensure
that Canada is not a safe haven for war criminals.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROPOSED CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY ACT
The new Act would implement in Canada the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It would replace
the current war crimes provisions of the Criminal Code. The Act would include the following new offences:
• Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes
The new Act would create offences, based on the Rome Statute, of genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes. These would apply to conduct committed in Canada and would permit Canada to prosecute these
offences or to extradite persons to the ICC to face prosecution there.
Genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed outside Canada would be defined under
international law existing at the time and in the place of their commission, whether in the past or in the future.
This would ensure that those involved in genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, regardless of when
or where those events occurred, could be brought to justice.
• Offences of Breach of Command/Superior Responsibility
The Act includes offences of breach of responsibility by military commanders and other superiors. Failure of a
military commander or a superior to exercise control over persons under their authority, which results in the
subordinates' committing genocide, a crime against humanity or a war crime, could result in the criminal
responsibility of the military commanders or superiors if they fail to take measures to prevent or repress the
crime or to submit the matter to the competent authorities for investigation.
• Defences
Canadian and international defences would be available to persons accused of genocide, crimes against
humanity, war crimes and breach of command/superior responsibility with some exceptions. It would not be a
defence that an offence was committed in obedience to the law in force at the time and in the place of its
commission. The defence of superior orders would be in accord with that provided in the Rome Statute. In
addition, the defence of superior orders could not be based on a belief that the order was lawful if the accused's
belief is based on information about an identifiable group of persons that was likely to encourage the
commission of inhumane acts or omissions against the group.
• Sentences and Parole Eligibility
The sentences and the parole eligibility rules that would apply to a conviction for genocide, crimes against
humanity or war crimes that involve an intentional killing would be the same as that for murder in the Criminal
Code. Ordinary parole rules would apply for all other sentences.
• Offences Against the Administration of Justice of the ICC
The Act includes offences to protect the integrity of the processes of the Court and to protect judges and
officials of the ICC, as well as witnesses. In particular, it includes offences of obstructing justice, obstructing
officials, bribery of judges and officials, perjury, fabricating or giving contradictory evidence, and intimidation.
Witnesses who have testified before the ICC would be protected under the Criminal Code from retaliation
against them or their families. All of these offences would apply when committed in Canada or by Canadian
citizens outside Canada. Other existing Criminal Code offences would also apply to protect judges and officials
from any harm when they are in or outside of Canada.
• Proceeds of Crime Offences
The Act also ensures that the possession and laundering of proceeds from these new offences would also be
offences. This would ensure that proceeds located in Canada from the worst criminal offences like genocide,
crimes against humanity or war crimes can be restrained, seized or forfeited in much the same way as
proceeds from other criminal offences in Canada.
• Crimes Against Humanity Fund
Money in Canada obtained from the disposal of forfeited assets or from the enforcement of fines or reparation
orders of the ICC will be paid into the Crimes Against Humanity Fund, established under the Act. The Attorney
General of Canada may then make payment from that Fund to the ICC's Trust Fund established under the
Rome Statute or to the victims of offences under the Act.
• Extradition
The Crimes Against Humanity Act would implement Canada's obligations under the Rome Statute to surrender
persons sought by the ICC for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Most procedures of the Extradition Act would apply to persons who are the subject of a request for surrender by
the ICC. However, a person who is the subject of a request for surrender by the ICC would not be able to claim
immunity under common law or statute from arrest or surrender under the Extradition Act. Grounds of refusal
for surrender that are normally applicable in cases of state-to-state extradition will not apply to a request for
surrender to the ICC.
• Mutual Legal Assistance
Canada would be able to assist the ICC in investigating offences of genocide, crimes against humanity and war
crimes in much the same way that it currently assists other states with normal criminal investigations. The
Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act would permit Canada to provide a wide range of assistance,
from the identification of persons to gathering evidence in Canada for the purposes of prosecution.
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