Italian Minister of Justice signs the very first agreement on enforcement of sentences as yet another indication of full Italian support for international criminal justice.

Press Release

TRIBUNAL

(Exclusively for the use of the media. Not an official document)

Italian Minister of Justice signs the very first agreement on enforcement of sentences
as yet another indication of full Italian support for international criminal justice.

Text of the Agreement

Today, Thursday 6 February 1997, the Italian Minister of Justice, Professor Giovanni Maria Flick, paid an official visit to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. He was accompanied by His Excellency Mr. R. Tallarigo, Italian Ambassador to the Netherlands and by senior officials of the Ministry of Justice.

The Minister met with the President of the Tribunal, Judge Antonio Cassese, as well as other Judges of the Tribunal, the Deputy-Prosecutor, Mr. Graham Blewitt, the Registrar, Mrs. Dorothee de Sampayo and other Tribunal officials. The Minister also visited the courtroom of the Tribunal.

On behalf of the Italian Government, the Minister signed an Agreement with the United Nations on the Enforcement of Sentences imposed by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in Italian prisons.

The President thanked the Minister for his official visit, which illustrates the continuing support of Italy for the Tribunal. Such support has already been shown by the secondment of two senior Italian magistrates and will continue through other analogous measures. The President highlighted that Italy was the first Member State of the United Nations to pass implementing legislation and, with the signature today, has become the first to sign an Agreement for the Enforcement of Sentences.

Minister Flick reaffirmed the full support of the Italian Government for the Tribunal's activities. He noted that the signing of the Agreement gives concrete expression to the Italian readiness to enforce sentences in Italy. Such readiness had already been expressed by Italy in the Special Declaration deposited with the United Nations. The Minister added that the opportunity, which he had had on this visit to observe at first hand the activities of the Tribunal, will prove particularly useful for the Italian Ministry of Justice in putting in hand further measures designed to assist the Tribunal.

Minister Flick also pointed out that the strong Italian support for the objectives and activities of the Hague Tribunal is an integral part of the more general promotion by Italy for the establishment of international courts, as testified by the active role which Italy is playing in the work of the United Nations for the establishment of a Permanent International Criminal Court.

The visit by Professor Flick is the second official visit paid to the Tribunal by a Minister of Justice (the Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation, Mr. Valentin Kovalyov, visited the Tribunal on 27 March 1996). Today's visit will be followed in the near future by further official visits to the Tribunal by the Ministers of Justice of several European Union countries. 

 

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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
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