The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is incomplete, which will keep courts from functioning justly and effectively, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing Thursday.
China had not joined the statute due to its deficiencies, Spokesman Liu Jianchao said.
Liu pointed out the statute did not strictly observe the principles of complementarity, which would possibly negatively affect government administration of criminals.
The statute did not define the rights of the United Nations Security Council on judging the act of invasion contravening the UN Charter, which meant the statute had not resolved the issue of the crime of aggression, Liu noted, saying that China was concerned about establishing a mechanism to resolve the problem.
Meanwhile, Liu said, the statute did not have an essential restriction on the power of a procurator's investigation, which would lead to the loss of a lawsuit.
Avoiding political impact on courts was also an issue to consider, Liu added.
He also expressed his hope that the International Criminal Court would win the confidence of countries which had not joined the statute, with specific work to be done in the future.
(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2002)
