ICC prosecutor says Bush, Blair could face war crimes investigation News
ICC prosecutor says Bush, Blair could face war crimes investigation

[JURIST] US President George Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official profiles] may one day face war crimes charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website; JURIST news archive] at The Hague, according to ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile; BBC profile]. Moreno-Ocampo said Sunday that the ICC could investigate allegations of war crimes stemming from the conduct of coalition forces in Iraq [JURIST news archive], so long as Iraq agrees to ratify the Rome Statute [PDF text] and accede to ICC jurisdiction. Hamid al-Bayati [official profile], Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, said the country is considering joining the ICC.

Britain is one of the State Parties to the Rome Statute [list] but the US has historically opposed the ICC, making it unlikely Bush or any other American citizens could face trial at the Hague. The UK Sunday Telegraph has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Georgia became first US state to ban lynching

On December 20, 1893, Georgia became the first state in the Union to pass a law against lynching, making the act punishable by four years in prison. The statute was not particularly effective—read the text of the 1899 pamphlet Lynch Law in Georgia by anti-lynching activist Ida Wells-Barnett.